Before and after

[Alan]

Hi Team

Please forget the subject matter and be so kind and cast your critical eye over this before and after photos and let me know what you think.

I realise that some extra work needs to be carried out on the none crocheted blanket, and it needs to be cropped.

No need to wrap your comments up in any fancy wrappings I am very thick skinned so please don’t pull any punches.

Don’t forget you can click on each image to enlarge

Before

After

[Heather]

just a suggestion on the composition from me, personally i would have tried to get the baby focusing on the bricks, maybe by having one in his hands ?

[Alan]

maybe by having one in his hands ?

Thank you heather for you comment but the baby is six weeks old and the blocks are 1.1/2 sq

[annie]

oooooo....i could eat him.... he is sooo cute...

it's an adorable photo.....

[Jon]

I might be inclined to try a slightly darker background to emphasise the bairn, and I think I might have tried to prop the bairn up a little as they look a little awkward to me. Mind, having tried to take pics of my two, I have to say well done - they will not stay in focus for me :)

[Alan]

and I think I might have tried to prop the bairn up a little as they look a little awkward to me

I agree James is on a board which is raised off the kitchen table by 4 DVD cases ( 4 in each corner ) and a rolled blanket is placed behind is back to help him face the camera.

I am going to try to put the board on a slope say 2 DVD case at the front and 4 DVD case at the back, this should eliminate the need for the rolled blanket.

[stevedevil]

I cant think why you would not actally put a backdrop there in the first place, as then all your images ( which could be over 200 ) wont need a backdrop cropped in ??

[Guest]

the backdrop works well but the composition is jarring, the baby looks very "placed" and not comfortable which I think is why it doesn't work as well as it might

[Alan]

I cant think why you would not actally put a backdrop there in the first place

If I had a backdrop I would use it.

the baby looks very "placed" and not comfortable which I think is why it doesn't work as well as it might

I agree.

[stevedevil]

So are you now buying one Alan lol

[stevedevil]

Remember Alan, you can use lights and white backdrop to also flare the " Unforseens" so rather than buying a backdrop, just use a white sheet, then have a 150w lamp on it, then guage the shutter speed from it, then as long as your 2 stops lower it will flare white, so young baby has a modern backdrop...

[geodar]

i agree about the backdrop, i would try a plain darker or plain whiter one to highlight the baby, also maybe use a darker plain blanket if he is in lighter clothes.

try a conversion to black and white.

i would just have his name spelt out on the bricks, getting rid of the b + f.

get lower with the camera to his level.

remove the board so that he is on the flat/level. or get a little closer so it is not noticable.

maybe remove the bricks altogether as my eyes keep going to the bricks, distracting from the baby.

if poss try to prop him up in a sitting position on a chair or on the settee with a plain darker background and go down to his level. or put a pillow/cushion under him and lie him down on top of a sheet/towel on a settee, raiing his head and upper body slightly.

if he can raise his head a little try on his belly looking up slightly at you or the bricks.

you can use a clean feather duster (or sorts) to tickel his cheek to get a smile, or use a toy with flashing lights to make sure he looks into the camera and keeping his attention. get his mam to stand next to/behind the camera and talk to him, again to make sure he is looking your way.

zoom in or move closer to remove the blanket above his head and below his feet so all you can see is the main baby blanket.

overall the 'after' is a lot better, and you have ended up with a good result, good focus and the lighting is good, no blown highlights or dark shadows.

geoff

[colinb]

with the general composition you have made work for yourself, if you moved/zoomed in on the baby removed or shifted the bricks to one side you could have raised or held the blanket up behind to hide the background. Having said that the editing of the background is done well enough but if you have numerous photos the editing can get tedious.

[Alan]

i would just have his name spelt out on the bricks, getting rid of the b + f.

I wanted the blocks to look random hence to include the B & F, plus theB & F are part of his name.

raiing his head and upper body slightly.

Did try that but not quite at that age he is only six weeks

good focus and the lighting is good, no blown highlights or dark shadows

The lighting was a single flash bounced off the ceiling and daylight from the patio doors.

I might be inclined to try a slightly darker background to emphasise the bairn

Whatever the colour I think the backdrop needs to be seamless so going to treat myself to a backdrop support frame and a plan fabric backdrop off white / cream ?

[geodar]

yep, just a tad too young for the belly shot, have you tried propping him up in a chair?

not as easy as it sounds, baby photos, but once you get what your happy with everything falls into place.

let us see the results of any new things you try.

geoff

[Alan]

have you tried propping him up in a chair?

Yes but he just collapses

let us see the results of any new things you try

Will do