Ultimate

Sdonion

Spring

My beautiful girl... Photo shoot for my birthday - one year ago. I have been spending time learning more about post-processing and gradually getting better.
Read more

My beautiful girl... Photo shoot for my birthday - one year ago. I have been spending time learning more about post-processing and gradually getting better.
Time to get some more cherry blossom pics before they are gone. Wish they lasted longer...
Read less

NIKON D810

settings

Aperture f/2.8 ISO 100 Shutter 1/160 Focal Length 850/10

upload_date

Apr, 2020

Views

800

Likes

+114

Awards

Curator's Selection

Top Shot Award 22

Featured

Peer Award

+311

Top Choice

Absolute Masterpiece

Superb Composition

Magnificent Capture

Outstanding Creativity

All Star

Superior Skill

Virtuoso

Emotions

Impressed

Happy

Top Ranks

Top 20 rank

Top 10 rank week 1

Top 30 rank

Top 10 rank week 1

Top 30 rank week 1

Same photographer See all Behind The Lens

My daughter. I think she looks like a movie star from the 40's or 50's in this photo. I was playing with my new camera and I loved this pict

My daughter and her bestie... Fun little photo shoot.

Beautiful sunset in Seabrook, Washington.

Joemma Beach State Park, Washington, this evening. This picture has virtually no editing and I was super happy with it except for the darn lens flare

Rooster, roaming the streets of Key West, Florida.

Taken at the Seattle Arboretum in late October, 2016. It has always struck me as ironic how beautiful trees are in the Fall when their leaves are dyin

We drove all around the country in our RV this summer, enjoying the amazing sights and history of America. As we were leaving Badlands National Park,

My daughter. I got a simple studio lighting set for Christmas so my daughter and I were having some fun. I also finally have Lightroom, so I can edit

This is my sweet girl. We were doing a cherry blossom photo shoot for my birthday and she noticed that the blossom leaves were falling from the trees.

My daughter in her Irish Dance hard shoes (or heavy shoes) preparing for the regional competition. I like the reflection of her shoes in the dance flo

Taken at the Japanese Garden of the Seattle Arboretum, Oct 2016. It was insanely crowded and I had given up all hope of getting any good photos when I

Taken at the Arboretum Japanese Garden - Seattle, WA.

This is a view of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge - looking toward the Gig Harbor side, with the sun setting behind the Olympic Mountains. It was spectacula

Loved the intricate pattern of purple and gold on these flower petals, so I put everything else out of focus. ( Go Dawgs! University of Washington Hus

One more from my outing this evening to Joemma Beach State Park in Washington. I was playing with long exposure but managed to forget my remote shutte

Taken at Yosemite National Park ~ April 2016

Skagit County Tulip Festival - La Conner, Washington

Discover more photos See all

The most wonderful time of the year. by annabalaban

Sunset Photoshoot at the Tulip Fields in the Netherlands by Arielle Frioza by ariellefrioza

WWII female officer in jeep-3789 by amuschik

08723636-FB4D-47AF-B34D-B2456C64D0CE_1_105_c.jpeg by andrewvoyles

Behind The Lens

Location

This was taken at the end of our driveway. The drive is lined with cherry trees that are gorgeous in the spring so we dressed Lexie up to match.

Time

This was at the tail end of golden hour… almost getting too dark to shoot, but the flash filled her in well. The sun is very low in the sky behind her.

Lighting

The sun is giving a bit of backlight onto her far shoulder but most of the lighting is provided by the built-in flash. Easy peasy.

Equipment

I used my Nikon D810 with 85 mm Nikon prime lens. Hand held. Built-in flash. This was actually a very easy shot to capture. It’s the beautiful girl that makes it special;) .

Inspiration

This was a photo shoot with my daughter for my birthday. Nothing makes me happier than shooting and editing photos (side passion), so my kids will often indulge me for my birthday and put on whatever I ask and do a photo shoot with me. I love the cherry trees in bloom and we had the cute pink floral headband from when she was little. We thought it was a cute addition and added a Spring feel to the image…

Editing

Yes! I edit in Lightroom and then Photoshop. It is shocking what a difference the editing process makes with portraits as you get to understand what photoshop can do. It pops the subject out of the photo and makes a dramatic difference.

In my camera bag

I carry WAYYY too much and have been working to lighten the load. Nikon D810; nifty 50 f1.8 lens; 85 mm f1.8 prime lens; decent Nikon zoom as my utility lens for regular family events; Sigma 35mm f1.4; Nikon 24-70 AND 70-200 lenses - maybe they’re Tamron or Tokina… I think I bought something with good ratings but cheaper than Nikkor. Additional flash (that attaches to camera); a series of filters (but I need more!!) and often a 4-in-1 folding reflector. BUT this particular image required very little. Camera and a portrait lens with a built-in flash.

Feedback

Time of day matters a lot, especially if it’s a bright sunny day. Put your subject in the shade and use a fill flash. Take a TON of shots… I probably took at least 75 shots of her just standing under this tree with her moving slightly, tilting the head a little this way or that…it is best to have a TON to choose from when you go to edit. You just delete all the ones you don’t want! Also, do whatever you need to do to put your model at ease and feeling confident and comfortable. It helps so much! And TELL them where to put their arm or whatever. All these little things make a huge difference in the final product! Happy shooting!

See more amazing photos, follow Sdonion

Sdonion

Sdonion

Spring