It's very hard to capture my grandson at a standstill. He's constantly on the go...unless something captures his attention outside the front window! What is he gazing so intently at here? Gampy is mowing the lawn and you can be sure he's wondering why he wasn't asked to help! He LOVES the mawmaw!
I was also practicing a little bit with lighting here. I love natural light, but I did want to accent his face more than his other features to I tried to wrap the light around him- starting with the most light in the front and fading into the darker tones at the back.
I think you did a grand job with the lighting here, Ann. . .I can't believe he stood still for this. . .seems as though you and I have similar aged grandsons! And the interest in the lawnmower is certainly universal!
Lyn- My oldest son has 3 children- Leigh is 5 about to be 6, Sam is 2 and Lucy is about to be 5 mos. My second son has one- Isaac who is 19 mos. And I must give accolades to my wonderful daughters-in-law who are doing great jobs as their moms!
You've done a great job with the light, fabulous portrait - he's gorgeous! ( I was remembering earlier how George would set off with his little plastic lawnmower following the lines at a good distance and 'picking up' any bits the real mower had left behind. He took it so seriously!)
@jesperani Thank you Jennifer! @automaticslim Thank you Andy! @cimes1 Thank you Carole! My friend Judy is also called MeeMaw by her grandchildren and great grandchildren. Isaac has been trying to say Grammy, but instead it comes out MeeMee and I've decided if that's what he ends up calling me I love it just the same! The mawmaw is his way of saying "lawnmower". Or sometimes he calls it the dacdac- for tractor which is what his Grandpa Scarborough (Betsy's dad) mows his lawn with (since it's about 5 acres or so!).
damon @netkonnexion has some pretty solid advice and i really find them useful. simple and to the point. now, this portrait, you used that natural light to the max and you produced a really beautiful portrait. isaac is adorable!
@prttblues Thank you Bev- I think so too- but then I'm rather partial to my grand kids!! @summerfield Thanks Vikki! I'm looking forward to the day when I can actually start applying some of the technical things he talks about.
@wenbow Thanks Wendy- well, he was more jealous than gleeful! He really wanted to be out there! (But the lawnmower doesn't have a guard so he would have been bombarded with grass the whole time hence the confinement indoors.)
Ann your captured Isaac perfectly. love his expression. his natural pose and your lighting make it a perfect picture. sure could use some points in the lighting department as I'm being pushed in the number 8 challenge into taking a face closeup filling in most of the frame.
@bruni I would highly recommend a website by one of our fellow 365ers- www.photokonnexion.com for some very well-written and easy to understand articles on lighting. If you go to the home page you can click on the article tab and the menu will give you different subjects to choose from. There is one for lighting and that will pull up all kinds of articles on light. As far as this picture goes, I had read an article Damon wrote called 5 Tips to Help Your Portraiture From the Renaissance. Here's the address: www.photokonnexion.com/?tag=portraiture
That one will give you tips on how to accomplish the type of lighting I did above. Taking a face full frame is definitely a challenge! Most people don't like the camera that close to them! You may want to consider taking the shot in b/w. B/W really does love strong lighting. Just pay attention to where the shadows are falling across the face. It's not that you don't want shadows on the face, but you want to make sure they are adding drama rather than taking away detail. I hope you find the articles helpful. I am really enjoying the ones I've read. Damon explains things without making you feel stupid! I like that.
September 11th, 2012
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He is adorable - but you knew that. You have captured such innocence.
Thank you Kerri, Karenann, Colleen, Lyn, Sheri, Henri and Marie! I so appreciate your kind comments. I'm even more pleased with the shot now with such positive feedback!
Lyn- My oldest son has 3 children- Leigh is 5 about to be 6, Sam is 2 and Lucy is about to be 5 mos. My second son has one- Isaac who is 19 mos. And I must give accolades to my wonderful daughters-in-law who are doing great jobs as their moms!
Thank you Sally, Phil, Karen and Dione! I truly appreciate your words of encouragement. I do love this shot- and my grandson!
@automaticslim Thank you Andy!
@cimes1 Thank you Carole! My friend Judy is also called MeeMaw by her grandchildren and great grandchildren. Isaac has been trying to say Grammy, but instead it comes out MeeMee and I've decided if that's what he ends up calling me I love it just the same! The mawmaw is his way of saying "lawnmower". Or sometimes he calls it the dacdac- for tractor which is what his Grandpa Scarborough (Betsy's dad) mows his lawn with (since it's about 5 acres or so!).
@summerfield Thanks Vikki! I'm looking forward to the day when I can actually start applying some of the technical things he talks about.
That one will give you tips on how to accomplish the type of lighting I did above. Taking a face full frame is definitely a challenge! Most people don't like the camera that close to them! You may want to consider taking the shot in b/w. B/W really does love strong lighting. Just pay attention to where the shadows are falling across the face. It's not that you don't want shadows on the face, but you want to make sure they are adding drama rather than taking away detail. I hope you find the articles helpful. I am really enjoying the ones I've read. Damon explains things without making you feel stupid! I like that.