alyssa Alyssa

Please give me your thoughts & suggestions.

Excellent colors and light. Sometimes this type of photo with pose is too light it seems. I love the very much. Nice capture also. Its natural. Very nice.

Absolutely beautiful...the shot has a kind of painted look. The colors are striking and very well though out....the hat is perfect and the way she holds the doll is priceless. I don't do this often but this is 7's all the way.

 

Dave

very sweet and well done work ! 7/7

I have a very sneaky suspicion that the world has just got itself a brilliant portrait photographer. Hats off to you Jayme.

Warren

Beautiful colors and tones. How sweet and feminine. Great job... Did you use any filters to enhance the colors? 6/6

Thanks to all for your comments.

 

Emily- I did not use any speical filters to enhance the colors. I use daylight balanced lights. This was shot in RAW and I adjusted there first. I did increase the saturation/hue in PS, so that the web image matched the printed image. I also added a guassian blur filter in PS to soften just a little.

 

I plan to print this on canvas. I can't wait to see how it turns out!

 

 

 

Jayme, A masterpiece for sure....Jim

A classic photograph. Great "professional" portrait photography.

Wonderful rich colors and great composition.

I love it Jayme, the colors are perfect. What kind of lighting are you using?

Peter- I'm using AlienBees 1600s. On this one I really only used 2, Large softbox on camera left and bounce umbrella above and behind camera. Really simple set up! I have a few different ones to post soon, just need to get time to work on them a bit. It's of a set of twins I did. Really cute! Used the same set up of lights!

excellent work Jayme, colors, the vivid detail and dark background really draws the focus.

This one is just perfect...fantastic colors and light. The sprinkled petals are a brillant touch.

Jayme, You really hit this one. The shot is classic and she is a little cutie. Great use of your talent. Regards, Scott

This picture is just perfect! Thank you for sharing!

Once again beautiful work. I also like your biography. Well said!

Again.... Thank you all for commenting, I really appreciate the comments!

Beautiful work, Jayme, love how blue theme of the flowers plays with the pale green of the dress. Very interesting face expression of the girl as well.

Jayme, looks as thought you are fully in control of the Mk 1ds. Do you use it outside the studio much?

 

I like the warm colours here and the nice dark background is a million miles from the usual pro portrait background papers you see everywhere. Great stuff.

My only nit is the "posed" hand on her face - I've never cared for that. The colors are beautiful and she has such a sweet expression on her face.

All in all a well done work. I'm puzzled a little however about the composition. It is as if she can't wait to leave the frame. Must be combination of large empty space at left and the fact that she's looking to the right. Nevertheless, terrific color and fine, even lighting. ^_^

Dmitry- Thank you for your lovely comment!

 

Colin- Thank you too. In response to the question about the Mark II: I do not use the Mark II outside. Because I have the 20D and don't want to increase the risk of sensor dust, it stays inside for now. Maybe someday I'll get braver. The background is a painted muslin canvas. I'm not fond of the color, but it's pretty versatile. Plus, it doesn't show the dirt. Gel filters are a little help with the color. My next canvas will be shades of gray only.

 

Kim- Thanks for your thoughts. While I'd like to take credit for Alyssa's pose, I can't. I pretty much let her do what she wanted to do. If I remember correctly, she kept giving me the "cheese" look whenever I pointed the camera her way. Her mother told her to think of something she wanted to do when they got home. I thought her response was pretty funny! She was thinking very hard, she's not quite 3. The hand on the face is apparently something she does when she's "thinking":) What a treat!

 

She was so cute & in constant motion. As she entered the front door, she immediately discovered my old doll, Sugar. She carried Sugar around from the moment she entered the studio (She sits in the doll buggy by the front door}. Alyssa hardly put her down the entire time she was at my studio. Sugar got an aerobic workout that day! :)

 

As with most of my images of kids, I try to provide a wide variety of toys & props that I have found kids are interested in. From the police car, baby buggy, puppets, bright colored chairs, old dolls & dress up outfits, to a set of bright yellow fireman's boots & bight red suspenders. I turn them loose & try to direct them toward the backdrop with any item or items of their choosing. Kids are so much better than I am at posing themselves. In Alyssa's case, barefoot is her natural state. Her shoes immediately came off. The flowered hat was something I decorated years ago to sit upon one of my antique hat stands. I laid it down beside her & she put it on :) The fake flower petals, I bought at Wal-Mart in the wedding department. I keep them in a lidded basket. Every kid so far has loved tossing them into the air and making a huge mess! The kids are usually surprised I let them! The Mom's have to be convinced to not stop them.

 

Michaela is a good example. She is pretty comfortable with me taking her picture (a very patient, little human guinea pig), plus she is at a wonderful age, 9. She is full of ideas & extremely creative. She usually tells me what we're going to do. Thus, the back flip image. ("Hey Jayme, wanna see me do a back flip?" "Sure Michaela") Her idea, not mine :) I'm just along for the ride :) So far, I prefer it that way. Right now, I have a hard time adjusting the lighting where I want it :) One less thing for me to think about.

 

I'd like to say I use a tripod and cable release, but I don't. I tried this, but since my subjects are all over the place, they never stayed in frame!:) When I shot wide, I missed detail & expression. I spend most of my time following them around, the rest is spent redirecting the lights & cleaning up toys & fake flower petals :)

 

Wilson- I hear what you're saying, but as above, I'm sure you're aware, taking images of kids is kind of like a baseball game, unpredictable at best. I'm sure you've tried "MAKING" a 2 1/2 year old do what YOU wanted. Fat chance! I've found my best bet is to make my request into a game and pretend I'm having lots of fun doing it. If I'm lucky, they DEMAND to be allowed to play too. That's IF I'm lucky and my stars are in the right place! :)

 

As with anything new, I'm still trying to find my niche. I enjoy watching kids play. I enjoy trying to capture their individual personalities. I have an obvious advantage with my own kids and grandkids, I know their personalities and can sometimes anticipate their next move. With children I don't know intimately, it's difficult to get natural poses & expressions. Plus, I am nervous too. I find I miss a lot of really wonderful, natural images by thinking way too much. I'm happy if I learn one thing new with each shoot. I awoke the other morning with a new idea, inspired by a shot of Alyssa I missed. I haven't tried it yet, but I plan to soon with a little 5 year old girl named Abby. I found out yesterday she broke her arm her first day of kindergarten! Fell off the monkey bars! :O I'm getting a new first aide kit for the studio! :) I may need it!

You definitely put it in perspective, Jayme! I hear you loud and clear. Child psychology will sure come in handy, don't you think? Likewise, sports psychology will be benificial to me as well. ^_^

Agreed Wilson- I know I learn more from kids than any other group. As I was informed yesterday by Jake, "Kids Rule". :)