Tuesday, October 21, 2008

The Decision is Made


Out of the 300 pictures I took for my cousin's senior pictures this is the one she ended up choosing. I just hope it turns out looking good in the yearbook. My favorite was the closeup shot of her face, but I can totally relate to not wanting a huge picture of your face in the yearbook for eternity. This one is pretty and doesn't shout "look at me", so it definitely works for her.

I learned so much from doing this shoot. One, if it is glaring bright outside, find a place with diffused light to take the pictures. Two, that shot in front of the pretty flowering bush that moms always want doesn't work so much for senior pictures, try going somewhere unique. Three, if you decide to take pictures under a tree make sure that there are no splotches of light on your subjects face. They are impossible to remove in post processing. I thought I had a fourth, but it is 10:30 at night and I still have a paper to write for tomorrow. Goodnight :)

edit: Four, it helps to have a pretty subject :)

2 comments:

Kristen said...

Thanks for the wonderful comment on the blog, it made my night! I swear, I feel guilty for laying her down for 10 minutes to shower. It is insane how much your life changes and priorities rearrange when you have a baby. And on another subject, taking photos of people outside can be so tricky at first and I have found your four points to be very true. Sunlight is great, but only if you can find a shady area to take the photos with no light shinning through. That is the worst. It is literally impossible to fix that mess. I've tried. Beautiful picture of your cousin, I'm sure she is thrilled with it.

Irene said...

That is such a nice photo!!!! Natural, pretty, perfect light and gorgeous girl!!! I would have been thrilled for a senior picture like that!

And the stuff you learned? Exactly what I recently learned. I had the splotchy light and yes I tried to remove it (looked horrible). I also found that sometimes the background doesn't make a whole lot of difference because you don't see much of it or you blur it out with a large aperture. Good lighting is the #1 most important item. For my photos, had the perfect backdrop, but the harsh lighting ruined it. Luckily, I got another try and had a much better experience.

I am thinking of offering free senior portraits next year, in the hopes that it will give me enough experience to actually start a business someday.