Eye Smile
Fun times, hanging upside down. Love the smile and light in her eyes.
Fun times, hanging upside down. Love the smile and light in her eyes.
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May, 2015Views
2312
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Awards
Contest Finalist in All Smiles Photo Contest
Featured
Contest Finalist in Freckles Photo Contest
Judge Favorite
Peer Award
Superb Composition
Top Choice
Outstanding Creativity
All Star
Absolute Masterpiece
Magnificent Capture
Superior Skill
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Behind The Lens
Location
This was taken in my bedroom. The kids were being silly and my daughter hung over side of the bed like this - just for fun.Time
The photo was taken mid-afternoon in the middle of summer. It was quite bright in the room due to a big window, just behind me.Lighting
I love natural light - I just think the catchlights in the eyes look so much more natural than with artificial lighting. Obviously, in this case the light is coming from a window and behind that window there are trees. (On closer inspection you can see all of that in the catchlights). The light is actually not all that flattering since the shadows are "upside down." You wouldn't normally light a face in this way, but I think her eyes attract you first and you don't initially notice that there are heavy circles under the eyes.Equipment
Nikon D700, 50mm 1.4 lens. Handheld.Inspiration
I like to document my children's lives during the school holidays. Nothing particularly special - no dressing up or anything fancy. Just them, around the house, playing games. It's a personal project.Editing
I post-processed this image mainly in Lightroom. Increased exposure, dropped the highlights and reduced the shadows. I used a black and white preset which added contrast and depth to the blacks and added clarity. There is a slight vignette to this image as well. I exported to Photoshop to clean up the image and even out some of the shadows.In my camera bag
A Nikon D700. My favourite lenses are: Nikkor 85mm 1.4, 50mm 1.4 and 70-200mm 2.8. I also have a 24-70mm which is a very versatile lens but not a favourite for portraiture. I mainly photograph people but also play around with macro, landscape and still life photography. I store my macro lens (Nikkor 105mm) separately and only pop in the bag when needed. My bag always has extra batteries and cards. I take a reflector with me when on location.Feedback
Place yourself near to a window and place your subject about a metre from the window. The window should not have harsh light directed at it or face directly into the sun. Allow your subject to be themselves and just play around with them. Real smiles simply can't be forced. When a child or your subject is truly happy, then their eyes will simply light up and half the work is done already. I highly recommend playing around with the Tone Curve and B&W ("black and white mix" located alongside the HSL panel) in Lightroom. An S shape in both the Tone Curve and B&W mix helps with the tonality of the image.
