Serenity
May, 2016Views
577
Likes
Top Ranks
Top 10 rankTop 10 rank week 1
Top 20 rankTop 20 rank week 1
Top 20 rank week 3
Categories
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Discover more photos See all
Behind The Lens
Location
I took this photo, of all places, in my kitchen. There's a big window above the sink that allows for lots of sunshine. I had my subject climb on the counter and sit as close as possible to the window. It might call for some acrobatics but natural light is priceless.Time
This photo was taken May 16th, 2016 at 10:49 a.m.. It was a beautiful, summer, morning and there was buckets of soft morning sun coming in from the big kitchen window.Lighting
All the light in this photo is natural. My subject was sitting nearly in the window sill causing the light to flood her face. Because of this abundant but excellent light the photo ended up a little over exposed. This was corrected in the editing process.Equipment
This photo was taken with My Canon EOS Rebel T3i, f/5.6, ISO 1600 with a standard 18-55mm lens at 55mm focal point. No flash or tripod was used. Personally I abhor flash as unnatural light. A tripod tends to get in the way when photographing children.Inspiration
I was fairly new to photography when I took this picture and I was always looking for something interesting to experiment with. It was a lazy Sunday morning and Lydia (my subject) was painting. At 3 years old most of the paint ended up on her rather than the paper. How cute I thought. I'm always trying to get good pictures of Lydia, so why not do it when she's made a mess? I grabbed some extra paint, my camera and started shooting. Am I ever so glad I did.Editing
My favorite photo editor is a free easy web site called Pixlr Editor. It was the best find ever. It is simple yet effective. This photo really blossomed when I did post-processing. Originally this photo showed her facing the other way. I flipped it because it flowed better. This photo was slightly over exposed so I amplified the contrast to bring out the shadows. I also amplified the color to give it the bright glow.In my camera bag
I am a simple photographer. I like to grab the basics and go. I carry a small, lightweight, over the shoulder, camera bag. I like to keep just the essentials in it; my canon T3i and 2 standard lens. A 18-55mm and a 55-250mm zoom lens. On the 18-55, I keep a macro/wide angle attachment. This is good for indoor and outdoors to get the most in the frame. The 55-250 is my all time favorite. It allows for shooting more distant subjects without the cumbersomeness of a telephoto lens. Most importantly always carry an extra SD card.Feedback
Photographing children is challenging but very rewarding. I'd recommend letting the child be a child. I prefer candid shots the best. I follow the child around (no tripod) saying "Just go back to what you were doing." If you do need to give pointers keep them simple and direct. Don't forget to smile and interact with them. When it comes to post-processing, just experiment. There's no wrong way to do it. Sometimes I end up with 5 rough drafts before I'm satisfied. Photography is art. Your photography is your art. Every photo is different. Just let it be it's self.
