# 3 year old in hay field for C&C, Pretty little girl!



## eric-holmes (May 13, 2010)

I shot these photos of this beautiful, shy little girl yesterday. The setting was an unharvested hay field and an antique chair I brought along as a prop. I learned that next time I need to bring candy. Constructive C&C please. I am interested on how to even out her skin tones. The chin and cheeks can look a little blotchy sometimes. 

Note*** I just realized the horizons aren't straight. Those will be fixed.


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## Antarctican (May 13, 2010)

She's a stunningly pretty little girl (looks like a young Charlize Theron).

The colours are very complimentary...her golden hair and the golden field, her green dress and the green trees in the distance.  In the first shot she looks somewhat coquettish, while in the second her expression is more child like. It's nice that she doesn't seem shy in front of the camera.


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## IgsEMT (May 13, 2010)

Ok so you know about horizons 
Not sure what you mean by blotchy for skin tones. What I'd suggest and this is really _my style of shooting  _is use a flash if you have one - underexpose the sky and light up your subject. So if you're shooting at PAS modes, ev-1 (or -2) this would underexpose your background and +1 on your flash would bring back the exposure to what should be ok. Also keep in mind your metering mode - I prefer center weight, but thats me.
Aside from that: in Image 1, I feel that extra space on R and L of her is a bit too much, thus, 1-3 ppl 90% of the time I shoot vertically; 3-more horizontal UNLESS situation calls for different composition.
Overall, its pretty good


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## DerekSalem (May 13, 2010)

What kind of lighting did you use here? Looks very natural but well-lit


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## eric-holmes (May 13, 2010)

Antarctican said:


> She's a stunningly pretty little girl (looks like a young Charlize Theron).
> 
> The colours are very complimentary...her golden hair and the golden field, her green dress and the green trees in the distance.  In the first shot she looks somewhat coquettish, while in the second her expression is more child like. It's nice that she doesn't seem shy in front of the camera.



Thanks. Oh, but she was very shy in front of the camera. But I am also a strange man who had just met her for the first time.



IgsEMT said:


> Ok so you know about horizons
> Not sure what you mean by blotchy for skin tones. What I'd suggest and this is really _my style of shooting  _is use a flash if you have one - underexpose the sky and light up your subject. So if you're shooting at PAS modes, ev-1 (or -2) this would underexpose your background and +1 on your flash would bring back the exposure to what should be ok. Also keep in mind your metering mode - I prefer center weight, but thats me.
> Aside from that: in Image 1, I feel that extra space on R and L of her is a bit too much, thus, 1-3 ppl 90% of the time I shoot vertically; 3-more horizontal UNLESS situation calls for different composition.
> Overall, its pretty good



I actually had a my SB-600 in my bag but I didn't bring it out. I had my metering on spot but I forgot and left the AF on a setting where is uses Matrix metering. I actually shot one of these in portrait but the sky was so blown out, I didn't know what to do with it. I cropped this one to an 8x10 so less sky would show, but here is the same pic in a portrait orientation. 








DerekSalem said:


> What kind of lighting did you use here? Looks very natural but well-lit



The sun provided a back/camera left light and my wife held a large reflector camera right. Thanks for the compliment.


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## IgsEMT (May 13, 2010)

> I actually had a my SB-600 in my bag but I didn't bring it out.


:er:
I always talk about flash photography...
Few weeks ago, had an eshoot in Central Park in NYC, I think I was the only photographer there, let me rephrase that, I was the only person with an SLR camera (since there were hundreds there) that had a flash attached to the camera + had an off-camera flash on a stand with a shoot-through umbrella & a second photographer also with a flash on camera.

*Replace FORCE with FLASH *
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrZimmFdkCI[/ame]


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## eric-holmes (May 13, 2010)

I am all for learning about OCF photography but I think it will be best to practice on someone besides a restless 3 year old. I am going to try to make my next purchase an umbrella kit. It will just take a bit of practice to learn the technique well enough to be comfortable to use it in an actual shoot.


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## Fraginator3000 (May 13, 2010)

Ye ur right bout the horizons, still pretty awesome shots


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## photonewbie86 (May 13, 2010)

Great shots  very pretty little girl


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## gigiphotography (May 13, 2010)

eric-holmes said:


> Antarctican said:
> 
> 
> > She's a stunningly pretty little girl (looks like a young Charlize Theron).
> ...



I like this one with the chair showing!  Such a pretty little girl!  She makes a great little model for you! I can see her shyness though!


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## Derrel (May 13, 2010)

I think the reflector fill looks better than what speedlight fill would have looked like. Also, reflector fill gives very easy alternative f/stop/shutter speed combinations without any need to switch the flash to FP sync mode. The reflector also keeps the same color temperature light as the ambient, as long as you're not using a gold reflector. It also gives a nice,large eye catchlight.


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## ghache (May 13, 2010)

i REALLY like them, good job,


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## eric-holmes (May 13, 2010)

Derrel said:


> I think the reflector fill looks better than what speedlight fill would have looked like. Also, reflector fill gives very easy alternative f/stop/shutter speed combinations without any need to switch the flash to FP sync mode. The reflector also keeps the same color temperature light as the ambient, as long as you're not using a gold reflector. It also gives a nice,large eye catchlight.



Thanks, Derrel. I also agree that it is more natural looking and I do love that catchlight. :hugs:


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## eric-holmes (May 13, 2010)

ghache said:


> i REALLY like them, good job,



Thank you very much.


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## reznap (May 13, 2010)

Reflector worked great here imo.  Is that pen on her left hand?

Antarctican was dead on about the complimenting colors and the hair matching the wheat-grass in back.  Great job.


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## mwcfarms (May 13, 2010)

Great pics ,I love the fact that she has a french manicure lol wild.


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## eric-holmes (May 13, 2010)

reznap said:


> Reflector worked great here imo.  Is that pen on her left hand?
> 
> Antarctican was dead on about the complimenting colors and the hair matching the wheat-grass in back.  Great job.



:lmao: Yeah, it is pen on her left hand. I saw it before we started and I just thought, "Easy clone". Then I forgot about it! I have since cloned it out. Thank you for noticing though.


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## eric-holmes (May 17, 2010)

A few more favorites...


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