So, I was checking out this: http://365project.org/ssmiley6017/365/2010-11-16 by Stephen Smiley and followed his link to a song by System of a Down, when my son crawled over and gave me this strange look like, "What is that thing on your head, dad?!" So, I gave him a demonstration and he sat, mesmerized, for about 30 seconds. Just enough time for me to grab a shot as he started to take the headphones off to go do something else.
The light coming in our front windows was just gorgeous, and his soulful eyes were sparkling just right. Love.
In Lightroom I made a slight S (curves adjustment) and took it over to Photoshop. I did a quick skin blemish fix (he had bits of dirt on him, as do most kids in that stage between crawling and walking) using the Portraiture plugin as well as a bit of patch tool work, merged my layers, and then duplicated my background layer. I set blend mode to "soft light" on the new layer, and knocked the opacity down to about 30% - this gave a nice colour pop without oversaturating things. I then did a quick pass over his eyes (curves adjustment and sharpening) and a final sharpen of the image. Very basic processing - I know it may seem complicated, but it's about a minute to do, and is similar to how I prepare "naturally processed" shots for a client gallery.
I tried a few different crops, but ultimately I just liked the original framing most of all.
Watermarks added in Lightroom (as I always do), upon export to JPG.
Now this made me go 'Awwwww, he is sooo cute' something very girly I don't often do. Lol. Tis a very wicked shot. I am a fan of how you get eyes like that.
Boy, you're quick on the draw there pardner, 30 seconds just enough time for you to grab a shot...I'd still be fiddlin' with gettin him in my sight, and he would have long crawled off, and I would have got a shot of his backside moving away. Quick critters they are.
Ok, enough with the old west, theme, awesome picture. I just wanna give those cheeks some kisses. He's too cute. He oughta be in pictures...I know it was lame, but you laughed didn't you :)
Thank you so much, everyone! He's such a happy kid - always makes me smile. :) Maybe I should post a basic Photoshop tutorial on exactly how I do my eye edits. I'll think on it.
@justkariherself Hahaha! I did laugh! In fact, several times! Thank you so much! It helps that I always have my camera very close by - all I had to do was adjust ISO and aperture. And take the lens cap off. You would not believe how many times each day I go to take a photo and *then* realise I need to take the cap off. Thirty years with a camera and I still haven't learnt!
the motif on his tshirt looks like flames which makes him look like the ultimate DJ, lol! Very cute shot and as everybody else - love how you make the eyes stand out! Guess blue/grey/green is the best colour for it :)
well he is a bi of a cutie pie :)) andyes as usual the eyes are amazing, but i love his lips, its like he's about to speak but doesn't quite know what to say haha .... SOAD fule my life, would have been a shock for his ears though hehe :-/ they are certainly not for all lol ... oh i think you do a great job with your descriptions too, a huge inspiration on this site, thank you :)
@yoori Thank you! I thought that too, about the t-shirt! I tried to think of a good "DJ-something" title, but my mind was a bit cloudy yesterday!
@taidster It was a really nice mellow song, but he's grown up listening to Seether, The Smashing Pumpkins, and My Dying Bride (he and his sister both love Seether, oddly), so he'd probably cope with their more usual stuff. :D I think you're right about his lips - he didn't quite know what to say!
Perfect ambient light. Thanks for the run down of your processing. I'll soon be moving from iPhoto to LR for my photo organization. I use an old version of PS CS on my Mac today, but just ordered CS5 Design Prem along with LR. Excited to get off iPhoto, but not looking forward to learning LR :).
@lintbrush Lightroom's learning curve is not too steep - you should be fine. :) There is a lot in there that you'll keep finding as you go, but it isn't bad for just jumping into! Thank you!
@nikkers Thanks so much, Nikki! And my wife's image made it as well, so both my kids are on there! :D We are taking over the page! ;)
Ok, enough with the old west, theme, awesome picture. I just wanna give those cheeks some kisses. He's too cute. He oughta be in pictures...I know it was lame, but you laughed didn't you :)
@justkariherself Hahaha! I did laugh! In fact, several times! Thank you so much! It helps that I always have my camera very close by - all I had to do was adjust ISO and aperture. And take the lens cap off. You would not believe how many times each day I go to take a photo and *then* realise I need to take the cap off. Thirty years with a camera and I still haven't learnt!
@yoori Thank you! I thought that too, about the t-shirt! I tried to think of a good "DJ-something" title, but my mind was a bit cloudy yesterday!
@taidster It was a really nice mellow song, but he's grown up listening to Seether, The Smashing Pumpkins, and My Dying Bride (he and his sister both love Seether, oddly), so he'd probably cope with their more usual stuff. :D I think you're right about his lips - he didn't quite know what to say!
@nikkers Thanks so much, Nikki! And my wife's image made it as well, so both my kids are on there! :D We are taking over the page! ;)