June 28, 2008

I've come a long way baby

After doing Alex's recent 7 month photo shoot I went back and looked at the pictures I took of him at 2 months. I am amazed at the difference in my abilities in just 5 months. When I first started the venture of learning my camera the proper way I felt so overwhelmed and like I was studying a foreign language. It has all slowly started becoming clear and each picture I take is a lesson...hence all the bug pictures lately.

Here's what I've learned and the differences I see...

then...


composition: I positioned the case straight on, so there is no depth to the picture, it looks flat. I had also added some distracting props that were completely unneccessary for the pose. Not to mention the backdrop was not straightened out in front of the case and the picture itself is crooked, not in a creative way.

lighting: I set-up in the kitchen in front of a glass door with bay windows on each side, so the light hit my subject straight on resulting in loss of definition to the details. It was also not nearly enough light needed even though I thought it was perfect then.

settings: I don't recall the exact settings of this shot, but I do remember I had a shutter speed of 1/50 or something ridiculous like that. That is too slow when photographing a moving subject, especially without a tripod. It results in a blurry picture. At the time I was working on obtaining the right exposure, which is fine, but you also have to keep in mind what you are photographing. A correct exposure does you no good if you can't achieve a crisp shot.

and now...



composition: I slightly tilted the case to give shadows and depth. Shadows are actually your friend if you work them right, it gives real dimension to your pictures. No silly extra props, just a cute baby in a case.

lighting: This time I set-up on the front porch. This offered brighter natural side (very important) lighting with reflection from the pale yellow siding on the other. Again, shadows are your friend. There is now definition so you can see all the cute little lines, wrinkles, and other details in his sweet face (don't you just love that lip pucker he has going on?).

settings: By moving my subject to a place with better lighting I was able to work with a faster shutter speed of 1/320. I have much better focus in this shot, although it could still be sharper. I have struggled with focus for so long (and still do), it's such a relief to actually understand now what I was doing wrong.

I also think my post processing/editing has improved. Post processing, or editing, in digital photography is equivalent to what happens in the dark room of film photography for proper development and special effects. I have a better understanding of what I'm doing instead of just randomly clicking buttons. Of course, post processing is more of a creative expression, and with all things art it is subjective...what I like, you may not.

All in all, lots of growth on my part....not to mention look how much my little guy grew in 5 months! He's so darned cute!

4 thanks for stopping by, i love comments!:

Melissa June 30, 2008 at 2:09 PM  

Wow. This intimidates me lol. I will *hopefully* be getting this camera for x-mas and want to get really good at photography. Not sure I have what it takes. I get overwhelmed easily and give up when I feel that way...eeek.

On a side note: baby Alex is the cutest thing EVER!!!! He just keeps getting cuter.

Vicki Chrisman July 1, 2008 at 2:54 AM  

ADORABLE!!!
Oh.. why cant you live close to me .. so you can come over and teach me??? We could play with cameras all day! lol

TanishaRenee July 2, 2008 at 8:31 PM  

beautiful! Love qatching yo ugrow as a photographer!

Amy July 12, 2008 at 11:09 AM  

This is awesome Tabby! I am so proud of you. You are really getting a great understanding of photography (not like some people we know. LOL)
I am so jealous you have Lightroom. You B. LOL Did you use your 50 lens on these shots? I totally agree that the case alone looks a lot better, but you know that even the first pic would win tons of pic contests! Let's face it, you have a natural eye for photography. I wish I had half you natural talent, not to mention such darn cute subjects. :)

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I'm a mom with a camera that loves exploring the world around me through my macro lens...and of course showing off my handsome little men.

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