Portraits By Mike

Sony A700, Sony 18-200 mm @ 70mm, 125sec, f8.0, ISO 200, Manual Exposure, 69 Elinchrom Octabox, Elinchrom 500BXri Strobe

What I enjoy most about photographing children is the fun that we all have.  I get to act silly. They get to act silly.  Sometimes it is like a three ring circus.  Through all of this, I manage to get both candid and posed shots.  This photo is actually composite of two different photos.  I just told the children to have fun but stay on the white background.  They jumped, they tumbled, they posed, they made funny faces.  As they were playing around making funny faces, I put the camera down and made the same face that you see here.  I asked each of them if they could do the same thing.  They each glady obliged.  I couldn’t hear after they were finished.  What you should remember is that kids like to be kids and sometimes we get our best shots when they are having as much fun as we are taking the photos.  This was clearly the case.

The setup for this shot was a 69 inch Elinchrom Octabox on an Elinchrom 500BXRi.  The Octabox was on camera right at about a 45 degree angle.  This large light modifier did not require a fill light or reflector.

Sony A700, Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 lens at 24mm, 125/sec. f/11, ISO 200, Manual Exposure, Elinchrom 69" Octobox and 3'x4' softbox

Photo Christmas cards have become very popular.  You can have them done professionaly or upload your own photos to places like Snapfish.com, Shutterfly.com, Ritz Camera, etc.  My favorite part is the creative process.

This past year, the kids wore red shirts that said “I’ve been soooo good” along with their favorite Christmas hat.  I took a number of different photos of the kids both singly and together.  The card contained both of them but we had some fun shooting the individual photos as well.

This photo is one of my favorite single photos that I shot.  This photo will be used a framed series of 4 photos as she puts the letter in the mailbox to Santa.  She really hammed it up and we all had fun.  The photo was shot in the studio with a white background and props.  The main lighting was from a 69″ Elinchrom Octobox/Elinchrom 500BXRi strobe.  The fill light was a 3′ x 4′ softbox/Elinchrom 500BXRi strobe.  The photo was processed in Lightroom to saturate the reds and brighten the whites.

Happy Holidays.

Sony A700, Sigma 24-70 f/2.8 lens, 50 mm, 1/125 sec @ f/5.0, ISO 200 Manual Exposure, Alien Bees B1600 w/ 32" x 40" softbox and reflector

I recently had the pleasure of photographing Alicia, a newborn, and Sophia, a 6 month old baby.  I used a one light setup for Alicia with a reflector and a three light setup for Sophia.

I was very excited to photograph Alicia. Newborns are so small and delicate and when they sleep, you can get wonderful poses.  Alicia on the other hand was wide awake for our session which took place at the parents’ home.  It was early evening so I setup in the living room using a background stand and a 10 x 20 white cloth backdrop.  As you can see from diagram 1, I used a 32″x 40″ inch softbox mounted on an Alien Bees 1600 strobe.  I used a a wireless trigger to set off the flash.  I had Mom hold a 36″ x 60″ white reflector just out of camera range.  

Little Alicia was not in the least bit tired. She moved constantly throughout our session bringing her hands up to her face every chance she could.  She was adorable and I was still able to get some cute photos.

Sony A700, Sigma 24-70 f/2.8 @ 50mm, 1/125 sec @ f/13, ISO 200, Manual exposure

Baby Sophia was also very much awake and attentive. I used an assistant, my wife.  She is wonderful in getting kids to pose and do funny things.

To see how I got Sophia’s picture, see diagram 2.  I used three lights.  A 32″ x 40″ softbox for the background light.  A 69″ octa-box for the main light and a 3′ x 4′ softbox for the fill light.  Little Sophia was very cooperative and with a little help from Sophia’s mom, we got the picture she wanted.  

Sony A100, 18-200mm lens@ 75 mm, f/6.3, 1/640 sec, ISO 200, Aperture Priority Mode, Matrix Metering

When we think of sports photos, we think of expensive cameras capable of stopping the action.  Some of my favorite sports photos do not involve action at all.  This photo of two opposing players standing on first base has an innocence about it.  The kids are still young enough to enjoy hitting the ball and running the bases just for the fun of it.  When taking photos of young kids playing sports, I look for shots just like this one.  When they are standing on the bases or in the outfield, they are just being themselves.  Just look for the right light and snap the photo. This photo was taken by my wife and shows that great photos can be had by anyone with a little effort.  The photo was cropped and the edges were darkened.

Sony A700, Sony 18-200mm @120mm, f/11, 1/125 sec, ISO 200, Manual Mode, Alien Bee B1600 strobe

This young girl has such captivating eyes that I wanted to keep the portrait simple and classic.  She loved to have her photo taken but always said “cheese” when I put the camera to my eye. What I needed to do was try to get her to relax in front of the camera.  I asked her to just stand there and relax. She began to relax and this beautiful expression settled over her.  It was at this point that I took the photo.  At

times I do silly things like tell a silly joke or put a stuffed animal on my head. What I am looking for is a natural smile, laugh or a look.  Whether you use a fancy digital SLR , film camera or point and shoot, sometimes we just need to let the kids be kids and wait for the right moment.  When I am shooting in a controlled environment, I set everything up and wait for the right look or moment to click the shutter.  By setting the scenario, slowing down and waiting for the right moment, you can also get wonderful, insightful pictures of your kids as well.

This shot was done with an Alien Bee B1600 strobe with a 32×40 inch softbox set up on camera left.  It was above the child and aimed at a 45 degree angle.  I wanted very soft light so I placed the softbox very close to the little girl – just out of the camera frame.  On camera right I had my assistant hold a 60 inch rectangular reflector (white side towards the girl) right to the edge of the frame.  This reflected light back to the side of her face to help fill in any shadows. See the diagram below.

Lighting Diagram

The portrait was processed in Photoshop Lightroom 3 and then in lightly processed in Portrait Professional version 10.

Some of my first attempts at using off camera lighting involved two speedlights (flashes) each mounted on a lightstand and shooting through a David Ziser Zumbrella.  A Zumbrella is a collapsable white stain umbrella in which the light of the flash can pass through. It provides a soft light with a smooth transition between the lights and the darks.  In this case, I had each light at each end of the background pointed 45 degrees towards my model. Both lights were at the same power.  This created an almost shadow free portrait and provided enough light on the background to ensure that it stayed very bright.  I like this look for children.

As I have experimented with other light types and placements, I believe that there is place for this type of portrait – especially for children that won’t sit still.  Another option would have been to power down one of the flashes by one or two stops of light (about half the power that I used).  This would have created some shadows on one side but the transition between the highlights and the shadows would have been smooth.  This creates more texture on the subject.  This little boy was so cooperative, he would have done almost anything you asked of him.  He was a sweetheart.  The beauty of photography is that you can create many different looks and feelings with just minor lighting changes.

Sony A700, Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 lens @ 70mm f/11, ISO 200, 1/200 sec, Manual Mode

I had taken some available light photos of baby Tyler I  but wanted a more traditional baby portrait on a white background.  For this portrait I used an Elinchrom BXRi 500 studio monolight with an Elinchrom 24 inch square softbox on an light stand.

I didn’t have alot of time to set up. While baby Tyler was sleeping, I draped the sofa with a white backdrop and placed a large soft pillow under the white backdrop to lend support for Tyler.  I placed the light above the subject on camera right at about 45 degrees.  To prevent deep shadows on the far side of the face, I had the father hold a 36 inch round white reflector just out of the frame on Tyler’s right side.  For convenience sake, I sync’ed the camera with the a sync cord rather than attaching wireless triggers to the camera and the studio strobe.  I was working in a relatively close position to the subject so the sync cord was more than adequate and of course 100% reliable.

One note, I used a Sekonic hand held flash meter to nail the exposure before posing Tyler. Do this before you pose the baby and it helps to make things move smoothly. Otherwise you could spend a minute or two with the baby in front of you trying to nail done the correct exposure.  You never know when the little one will tire of your antics.

The final image consists of brightening the background.  This was much easier and faster than setting up additional lights.  While the goal is to get as much done correctly in the camera, if it is easier in Lightroom or Photoshop, I will save the time and correct it later. The file was processed in Lightroom 3 where the background was brightened and was finished off in Portrait Pro using the default settings . For those unfamiliar with Portrait Pro, it softens and removes blemishes from the skin.  For babies, I just smooth the skin slightly and remove minor blemishes.

This portrait was printed by ACI Labs on a canvas gallery wrap at 16×24 inches and looked spectacular.

Sony A700, 50mm 1.4 lens@ f2.8, ISO 320, 1/250 sec, Aperture Priority Mode

I noticed a beautiful sunset as I looked out the back door. I grabbed a camera and flash and asked the kids to come see the sunset. My son was the only one that was willing to pose. He jumped up on a chair, looked at me, allowed me to snap a few photos and was gone.

This type of photo can cause the casual photographer a lot of trouble. Without a flash,  the camera sees the brighter background and correctly exposes for it. Your subject is then a dark figure or even a silhouette. One method is to set the camera to Program mode and meter for the sunset. Now switch to manual mode and underexpose the scene about one half stop. Turn on your speedlight or pop up your built in flash. Set the flash, depending on the distance to the subject, to about 1/2 power and take a shot. Check the exposure on your subject, If it is over-exposed, reduce the flash power. If it is under-exposed, increase it. Keep shooting until you get the exposure on the subject you are looking for.

For this photo I was in Aperture priority mode using a Sony HVL 58 flash.  I set the flash compensation to a negative 2/3 stops, composed and fired. With the right combination of camera and flash, TTL flash photography can be easy. If the exposure had not been correct, then I would have adjusted the flash power until it was correct. I tend to use Aperture Priority when working with children as it faster to make adjustments even though you have more variances in the ambient exposure than in manual mode. I generally reserve manual settings for when I have more time to set up or when working with older children and adults.

Sony A700, 50mm f1.4 lens @ f1.4, ISO 400, 1/250sec, Aperture Priority

My daughter looked so adorable one evening after her bath. She had on her red PJs and a white turbie twist. I reached for the camera and looked for the right lighting. She was sitting in the chair next to the only light on in the room. The lamp had a standard incandescent lightbulb but it had a warm cream/tan shade over it. I asked Maddie to turn around and lean over the arm of the chair so she faced into the light. I showed her what I wanted her to do and asked her to give me some attitude. She was patient enough for only about 4 clicks of the shutter but I got the photo above.

My first reaction when I saw her come down the steps was to grab the speedlight with a Honl grid or the Lumiquest LTp softbox. They would give me control over the direction of the light and I could control the background’s ambient light. When I saw her go over the chair and the quality of the light from the lamp, I changed my mind and grabbed the 50mm f/1.4. The differences between a snapshot and portrait are usually the little things. I looked around and found the best available light (this time it was the lamp). I position Maddie to block out the any distracting elements in the background. I used a fast lens/wide aperture to smooth the background.  I added some vibrance, a little skin smoothing and burning in Lightroom 3 and the photo was done.

With children, simplicity and speed are important.  I evaluated the scene for lighting and composition first and then asked my subject to pose.  You never know when they will get bored or just refuse to cooperate.

Welcome to Portraits by Mike.  In this blog I will discuss all kinds of photography but I focus mainly on portraits – both formal and environmental.  Photographing children and young adults is my passion.  At times you just never know what you are going to get during those sessions. Please follow along on my journey into Photography.