September 18, 2009 - Joshua's black and white

1/400

f2.2

ISO 1600

50mm

RAW

I finally got my oldest, Joshua, to pose for me at the same window, so this completes the set I wanted to do of all my children. And just like the others, everything I said about the first photo applies here, too.

I'm going to break with my traditionally explanation and talk about what I don't like first — that finger resting on his upper lip! I really like the pose, but the finger is very distracting. He was moving around as I was taking the photos (almost like he was modeling for me) and I tried to get him back into the same pose but with his fingers resting on his chin instead, but I was unsuccessful.

Having said all that, I like this photo. The lighting for this portrait is probably the best of the bunch. One thing I did differently is I put my 52-inch round white reflector just out of the picture to his right. This bounced a little bit of the window light back into the darker side of his face, which really helped lighten up his eye.

Now that all five are done, Rachel and I aren't sure we like all of them. There are a couple we feel really capture the kids' personalities (like Leigh Ann and Tannah), but we worried some of the poses are too similar (Rachel wants variety in each kid's pose). We will probably take some of these again until we feel we have what we want.

September 9, 2009 - Morgan in black and white

1/100

f2.2

ISO 1600

50mm

RAW

Here is my fourth child, Morgan. She was excited when I told her it was her turn for a portrait by the window. Just like the others, everything I said about the first photo applies here, too.

While I like the photo, I am not sure if does a good enough job of capturing her personality. But it was the best of the bunch. Morgan likes it, however, and so does Rachel.

I do like how the lighting turned out on this one. The light seems to wrap around her face better than the other three, and I think I did a better job on the black and white effect this time.

Having said that, you may be seeing another photo of her coming soon. And then we'll pick which one is better.

September 8, 2009 - Another self portrait

0.6 sec

f5.6

ISO 200

18mm

RAW

I almost didn't get a photo today. Back on Labor Day, I fixed a broken pipe under the sink. After dinner tonight, I checked to see if there was any water under the sink.

Sure enough, there was.

So while I was digging around under the sink trying to figure out where the water was coming from, I remembered I still hadn't gotten a photo yet. So I pulled out my tripod, set the camera on it, and adjusted it to where the camera was at head level. This way the photo would have the same perspective as if you had walked in the kitchen and found me there.

I also set the camera on f5.6 to make sure everything was in focus and put it on the widest zoom possible. I adjusted the white balance to match the light bulbs in the kitchen. Finally, I put it on the 10-second timer so I would have enough time to get under the sink before the picture was snapped.

I wish I had a wider lens for a shot like this. It would have helped. I think the perspective could have been better if it had included more of the kitchen.

What do you think? Did I do a good job?

September 6, 2009 – 40th anniversary photo

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f5.6

ISO 100

50mm

RAW

Like I said in an earlier post, we had a miniature family reunion this weekend. Everyone got together because we had two children baptized (one mine and the other my niece) and a baby blessed (another niece).

After church today, we all went over to my sister-in-law's house for a big sunday dinner. Rachel's parents, Mike and Pam, had a question for me when we got out of the car.

"Chris, Mike and I would like to get a photo done." Pam said. "Since we just had our 40th anniversary, we want a nice portrait."

"Sure!" I replied. "When do you want to do it?"

"Right now, before we change out of our church clothes," she said. "We were just thinking of something here in the front yard."

"Um . . . okay." They had caught me completely off-guard. I quickly looked around for areas around the house that would work. Luckily, the neighbors across the street had this nice white fence, and I thought this would work well.

Is this my best work? No. I found several things I didn't like when I uploaded the photo to the computer. Their faces were in too much shadow, which I tried to fix with dodging in Photoshop Elements (which lightens parts of the photo). The tree in the backgound is right behind Mike's head. Too much of the photo is in focus. Mike's jacket is hanging funny. And for some reason, even at 1/100 of a second there was still a little bit of camera shake in the photo.

The only thing I can think of is I was a little "out of it" because I had skipped breakfast and lunch that day and was super hungry. But that's an excuse — I should have done a better job.

Overall, I thought the picture was okay and I hope my in-laws like it. That's what is most important. I am sending it to them today.

September 5, 2009 - Beaming ring bearer

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f4.5

ISO 800

35mm

RAW

Weddings can be a lot of hard work, but a lot of fun, too! I had the pleasure of getting this shot of a very personable ring bearer today. The wedding was severely delayed (by an hour and a half) while they were waiting for the bridal group to show up, but he kept a great attitude going.

I got this shot as they were just about to start the ceremony, while they were preparing in a back room. He was concentrating on what he had to do in a few minutes, and when I snapped his photo he didn't look happy. I joked with him about it, and teased that it wasn't against the law to smile at a wedding. He perked right up and let me get a second shot.

I purposefully got down to his level to help make him appear more natural, like a real person instead of a little child. I had a dedicated flash attached to the camera, with the flash head pointing straight up to the ceiling.

This flash technique helps create a brighter and larger source of light directly overhead. Because it is larger (turning the whole ceiling into a source of light), it is also a softer light, meaning it has no harsh shadows. To help bounce a little light straight from the camera to the subject, I attached a little white card to the back of the flash head.

I shot with a wider aperture (f4.5) to help get the maid of honor out of focus in the background. I purposefully wanted to include the maid of honor to help tell the story of the photo, so I put the ring bearer on one side and her on the other.

As for what I wish I could have changed, I don't really like the stand of religious pamphlets in the background, nor do I like the pair of hands sticking into into the left side of the photo. But this was taken at the spur of the moment, and I didn't want to take more than a few seconds to compose the shot because the announcement to line up could have been coming at any time.

The one thing I could've changed (and now wish I had) is to have him turn his pillow around so the tag isn't showing. But some people will argue that the tag adds to the overall photo by reinforcing this is just a little kid and despite his utmost concentration he will still miss some of the fine details (like having the tag sticking out). What do you think?