A couple of Portraits.

[stormygirl]

Hi all,

It's been a while since I posted images for critique, so here goes! I took these of my girlfriend's children (and yes, I was paid! ), and she was so impressed she is having the black and white one printed on canvas for her lounge room. I converted all of them to black and white for her, but thought I'd leave most of them colour for my web site.







A few more here too: http://www.stormygirl.net/portraiture.htm

What do you think? Apart from the obvious colour cast on the third one on my site which I will adjust when I have some spare time!

[Rainey]

They are great, the middle one particularly caught my eye because the image draws you into the childs face, the first one is great as well but as a portrait I felt her jacket and button was just a tiny bit distracting.

Overall fantastic effort.

[Oscar]

Hi Jane, I think these are absolutely gorgeous. Great shooting. Cheers, Mick

[wendellt]

jane 1st one and last one both have dimension and efortless expression
i prefer the mystery behind number 1 though

[Yi-P]

The expression captured in #1 is priceless

Well done there mate

[ozimax]

Def like #1 as a great candid, will be treasured no doubt for a long time, Max

[Geoff]

Jane - I'm a sucker for a great portrait and these ones are fantastic. I think I prefer the 1st and last the most, would love to have seen the little chaps full head in the last one but it was a spontaneous shot and you've done well anyway. Thanks heaps for sharing!

[PiroStitch]

The first and last do it for me as well especially the first one. Now there's a cheeky copper.

[rooboy]

Gorgeous shots, and I can see why they'll be printed large. Lovely work

[stormygirl]

Thankyou everyone for your positive comments, it means a lot to me! Hopefully I might be able to get some more 'work' out of it! It is very difficult working with children, and you have to be quick to catch those special moments, but it's all great fun!

[jethro]

Great images Jane!. Your talents have matured somewhat. Keep it up
jethro

[stormygirl]

Thanks Jethro

[gecko]

These are beautiful images - the parents should be very happy - and you should be too for capturing the essence of childhood.

Keep up the good work and pass on some tips to us learners!

Cheers
Gecko

[mudder]

The expression in #1 is beautiful and full of innocence, #2 shows off those gorgeous eyes (not sure whether I'd like to see her whole hands or not?) and #3 is a fantastic candid moment that's full of memories...

The parents would love these, very well done... Working with kids would not be easy but you've captured the moments and their spirit well...

[stormygirl]

Thankyou Gecko and Mudder! Honestly Gecko I am learning myself so the only tips I can share is to shoot in natural light, and shoot all the time. You never know when you could miss the perfect moment. It can be tricky as kids move around a lot, and I took at least 100 pics in a short sitting. I try and get in as close as possible and focus on their eyes...and it's all good fun!

[zafra52]

I've just seen some of your photos and I am green with envy! The kids seem so relaxed and trusting which makes me think you took time to put them at ease and gain their confidence before pointing the camera at them.
They seem to be having fun as well. I've taken a few photos of children to know how moody they can be and how quickly change their facial expressions and loose interest.
Congratulations on well deserved recognition!

[marcotrov]

Gorgeous expressions and lighting Stormygirl. Well done and congratulations on POTW
cheers
marco

[stormygirl]

Thankyou so much macrotrov and zafra52!

I've actually known the kids since they were born, and I took the photos in their own home which makes a difference! A little bribary in the form of chocolate goes a long way too!

[BBJ]

Hey stormy, looking good there and well they are bloody great and think that anyone would be happy with these pics and they are bloody fantastic. Well done, and well can i ask what lighting did you use?
Thanks
John
BBJ

[stormygirl]

Hi BBJ, It was all available light, nothing artificial. I always try and use available light while doing portraiture, near a bright window or in the brightest room of the house.

I had absolutely nothing set up for the entire sitting, just the kids being kids and me with the camera! She grabbed the bobbies hat and put it on, I just happened to have the camera ready!

Thanks for your comments, I'm pretty chuffed at the results!