# Witch Of The Forest



## smoke665 (Oct 17, 2018)

After raining all morning, the sun peaked through giving me some really beautiful golden light. Took the opportunity to finish up my Halloween set with granddaughter. Three of the favorites from the set.  All ambient light with a large white reflector for fill. C&C appreciated




no-image-available-grid.jpg by William Raber, on Flickr


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## Jeff15 (Oct 17, 2018)

Very nice shots.....


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## wannabe photographer (Oct 17, 2018)

Very nice


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## smoke665 (Oct 17, 2018)

Jeff15 said:


> Very nice shots.....





wannabe photographer said:


> Very nice



Thank you!  She has hazel eyes that shift from green to greenish brown, that the warm light and brown in the landscape was really making them pop.


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## Dean_Gretsch (Oct 17, 2018)

#2 is just_ too_ sweet!


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## SquarePeg (Oct 17, 2018)

That 2nd shot is your winner.  The first one is cute but looks soft on my desktop monitor.  3rd shot is adorable but the eye contact in #2 pulls it way above the others for me.   Nice work all around pops.


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## DanOstergren (Oct 17, 2018)

Great shots, nothing that I would critique. Did you get some shots that weren't as close-in?


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## smoke665 (Oct 17, 2018)

Dean_Gretsch said:


> #2 is just_ too_ sweet!



Thanks Dean, that was one of my favorites as well



SquarePeg said:


> That 2nd shot is your winner.  The first one is cute but looks soft on my desktop monitor.  3rd shot is adorable but the eye contact in #2 pulls it way above the others for me.   Nice work all around pops.



Thank you Peg. Yeah the first one bums me a little because it is softer than I would have liked. I was having to keep up with her, and the voice activated reflector (who doesn't take directions well ), while trying to keep the ISO down. After that first one I upped the ISO to 800 on the rest to get my shutter up where it needed to be.



DanOstergren said:


> Great shots, nothing that I would critique. Did you get some shots that weren't as close-in?



Thank you Dan. I did all of the full length in the studio last week. This was an after thought of sorts and while they are cropped tight, the intention was for closeups only to finish the set.


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## RowdyRay (Oct 17, 2018)

Nice follow up. All of them are adorable. Twist my arm, I'd go with #2 as well.


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## Trever1t (Oct 17, 2018)

C&C as requested.

Too tight. Yes I read what you said but still, back up some. Shooting portraits in landscape is generally a nono UNLESS you are wanting to incorporate the surrounding elements as part of the story. #1 is out of focus, as mentioned above. 

2&3 are nice and sharp.


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## smoke665 (Oct 17, 2018)

RowdyRay said:


> Nice follow up. All of them are adorable. Twist my arm, I'd go with #2 as well.



Thank you. #2 seems to be drawing the most interest on social media as well.

@Trever1t Thanks for commenting. #1 as mentioned above was a miss on focus but I still liked the feel. She was spinning as I took it. Point noted on crop, but requirements for the final project dictated it be tight.  I've started incorporating these little themed shoots into photo books. Seem to work better for parents and grandparents.


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## SquarePeg (Oct 17, 2018)

I like the tight crop.  Are these 10x8?  They'll fill a frame nicely.


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## smoke665 (Oct 17, 2018)

SquarePeg said:


> I like the tight crop.  Are these 10x8?  They'll fill a frame nicely.



14x11


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## stapo49 (Oct 17, 2018)

How good is your granddaughter as a model, great stuff. Love the expression on her face in the third one.

Sent from my SM-G965F using Tapatalk


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## smoke665 (Oct 18, 2018)

stapo49 said:


> How good is your granddaughter as a model, great stuff. Love the expression on her face in the third one.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G965F using Tapatalk



The expressiveness is part natural, part  being the subject of many photos, from just born on, being in front of a camera (studio lights) is nothing new for her. I'm reminded of that difference when I shoot others her age. She has always been a happy child with a very advanced vocabulary.  We forget sometimes she only just turned 3.


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## jcdeboever (Oct 18, 2018)

What a doll baby. I would have to guess she is a grandpas girl


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## tirediron (Oct 18, 2018)

Great work!!!  Agree; #2 is the winner.


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## smoke665 (Oct 18, 2018)

jcdeboever said:


> What a doll baby. I would have to guess she is a grandpas girl



She fluctuates between Mimi and myself. Yesterday was my day because I took her to McDonald's. LOL



tirediron said:


> Great work!!!  Agree; #2 is the winner.



Thank you!


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## DGMPhotography (Oct 18, 2018)

#2! 

#1 looks like the shutter speed was too slow.


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## smoke665 (Oct 18, 2018)

DGMPhotography said:


> #1 looks like the shutter speed was too slow.



Yup, that and DOF. I was shooting aperture priority up close, zoomed out, which didn't give me much room for error. The intent was to follow the eye nearest the camera, but I think I split the difference, plus the fill from the reflector completely changed when she turned and the self adjusting auto reflector was zoning out.  Immediately after I upped to ISO 800, which is what I should have been at initially. You get in a groove of doing things a certain way in studio then go outside, and you have to play catch up sometimes.


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## SquarePeg (Oct 18, 2018)

smoke665 said:


> DGMPhotography said:
> 
> 
> > #1 looks like the shutter speed was too slow.
> ...



Have you considered setting the shutter speed and aperture manually and shooting Auto ISO?  You can set an upper limit on the ISO...  I find A priority to be troublesome unless I really watch the shutter speed the camera is choosing.  If you're not watching it closely you don't realize it dropped too low until you miss the shot.


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## smoke665 (Oct 18, 2018)

SquarePeg said:


> Have you considered setting the shutter speed and aperture manually and shooting Auto ISO? You can set an upper limit on the ISO... I find A priority to be troublesome unless I really watch the shutter speed the camera is choosing. If you're not watching it closely you don't realize it dropped too low until you miss the shot.



Normally I'm shooting full manual inside where I can control the light. Outside I'm in P using EV. The P mode and the "magic green button" on Pentax is  a hyper auto program mode. If you don't like what it picks touch the aperture dial, and you're in AF, change the shutter you're in TV, change ISO and you're SV. Or you can pick two or go full hyper manual. Touch the "green button" you're right back on full auto. The buttons/dials are so well laid out that I can switch without ever taking my eye away from the view finder.  The ISO can be set to either a range (auto) or limit. Most of the time I set it to limit, because Pentax seems to favor bumping ISO higher then necessary over using a slower shutter speed.   Also, I find it easier in processing to have them all at one ISO. The 2nd shot you liked with ISO 800, it picked 1/250 on shutter which was plenty for the scene. The first one was a slip for me as explained above.


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## SquarePeg (Oct 18, 2018)

My point was that, you want to be the one who sets the shutter speed, not your camera, especially if your subject is not stationary.


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## smoke665 (Oct 18, 2018)

SquarePeg said:


> My point was that, you want to be the one who sets the shutter speed, not your camera, especially if your subject is not stationary.



No I understand what you're saying, and in some cases I'd do the same thing. In this particular instance I wanted the aperture fixed for limiting DOF, and by fixing ISO I was able to let the shutter float within an acceptable range (1/160-1/250) for the shot. With one ISO it was easy to sharpen and reduce noise then sync everything the same.


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## CherylL (Oct 19, 2018)

I like the closeup shots and they are a great addition to the other full body shots.  #3 is my favorite.


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## smoke665 (Oct 19, 2018)

CherylL said:


> I like the closeup shots and they are a great addition to the other full body shots.  #3 is my favorite.



Thanks Cheryll!  Rather then print a couple of prints then spend $$ on frames, the grandmothers and mother have latched on to the photo book idea. They can get a lot of prints in a nice keepsake book for about the price of a couple of prints and frames. We have our walls covered with prints, and will continue with some, but the I find myself leaning more toward the book idea as well.


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## CherylL (Oct 19, 2018)

smoke665 said:


> CherylL said:
> 
> 
> > I like the closeup shots and they are a great addition to the other full body shots.  #3 is my favorite.
> ...



I thought about printing a book as a gift.  My Aunt received one of her grand daughter's wedding photos, but the binding wasn't too good.  A few pages fell out.  It was a Google book.  If you go the book route I hope you write a review.


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## smoke665 (Oct 19, 2018)

CherylL said:


> I thought about printing a book as a gift. My Aunt received one of her grand daughter's wedding photos, but the binding wasn't too good. A few pages fell out. It was a Google book. If you go the book route I hope you write a review.



I did a down and dirty (cheap) book as a surprise gift for granddaughter, from Walgreens. I was actually quite surprised at the way it turned out. It was way better then I expected. The binding was pretty good because when mom and grandmothers saw it, I thought they were going to tear it apart fighting over it. LOL I'm trying to set up a better quality one from Nations now, that will be a year will hold the year.


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## SquarePeg (Oct 19, 2018)

Snapfish and Shutterfly both have decent quality photo books.  I scanned all our old family photos and made photo books for both of my brothers since I ended up with all the family photo albums here (they came with my mom when she moved in).




CherylL said:


> smoke665 said:
> 
> 
> > CherylL said:
> ...


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## tirediron (Oct 19, 2018)

smoke665 said:


> CherylL said:
> 
> 
> > I like the closeup shots and they are a great addition to the other full body shots.  #3 is my favorite.
> ...


Have you thought of gallery or float wraps?  A little more expensive than paper prints, but 100% frame-free!


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## smoke665 (Oct 19, 2018)

tirediron said:


> Have you thought of gallery or float wraps? A little more expensive than paper prints, but 100% frame-free



Have a few already.


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## enezdez (Oct 20, 2018)

@smoke665  All the images are great like them all! Love the second, her expression to me says it all - "Grampa how much more..."  lol

God Bless Her & You!

Enezdez


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