# Latest Portraits: Kailynn and Jack



## NJMAN (Oct 2, 2007)

These are some of my latest portraits of young people.  The mother saw some of my senior portrait photos, and said "My daughter is only 14. Can you make the pictures of her look like your senior portraits without making her look like a senior?"  I smiled and said, "Yes, I think so."  LOL.  Her little brother wouldnt be able to look like a senior no matter what I did.  C&C always welcome.  I really appreciate it.  Thanks! 

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Thanks for looking! 

NJ


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## acaldwell (Oct 2, 2007)

#2 for the boy and #4 for the girl.  i'm still loving your skin processing. i'll get there, my friend.   great job, mom will love these (and so will the kiddos)!


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## Sideburns (Oct 2, 2007)

wow.  skin looks like a model type thing.  She definitely doesn't look 14...either she naturally looks old, or you're just that good.


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## NJMAN (Oct 2, 2007)

acaldwell said:


> #2 for the boy and #4 for the girl. i'm still loving your skin processing. i'll get there, my friend.  great job, mom will love these (and so will the kiddos)!


 
Thank you abby! Much appreciated. I will say that the mother was quite tickled about seeing these. 



Sideburns said:


> wow. skin looks like a model type thing. She definitely doesn't look 14...either she naturally looks old, or you're just that good.


 
She has very fair skin, thats for sure. But she also had some acne that I knew I had to clean up. I always try to take a very careful approach when cleaning up skin.  Other than that, the camera agreed with her skin very well. 

"or you're just that good"....ha ha! Anyone that knows me will tell you that I am my own worst critic. So I would never say that about myself. But thank you for saying that. I appreciate the kind words!


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## tkme4ard (Oct 3, 2007)

the pictures look great!  her eyelashes have me cringing though LOL


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## BOUNCE! (Oct 3, 2007)

Great Work njman! These are a really awesome set of ports and I bet they were thrilled! Keep Posting. xxx


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## DigitalDiva (Oct 3, 2007)

#2 and #7 are my favourites.

The leaves, her skin tone and hair colour...slammin'!


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## Christie Photo (Oct 3, 2007)

Nicely done!  You've got a good handle on background lighting ratio.

Have you ever worked with a large gobo?  It may just be the last bit to make all of these truly amazing.

And...  some very nice posing too!

The first is my favorite, but ya gotta love that background in #7.

-Pete


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## NJMAN (Oct 3, 2007)

tkme4ard said:


> the pictures look great! her eyelashes have me cringing though LOL


 
Thanks tkme4ard!  Really appreciate the comments. 



BOUNCE! said:


> Great Work njman! These are a really awesome set of ports and I bet they were thrilled! Keep Posting. xxx


 
Thank you BOUNCE!  I so appreciate you taking the time to comment.  It means a lot. 



DigitalDiva said:


> #2 and #7 are my favourites.
> 
> The leaves, her skin tone and hair colour...slammin'!


 
Thank you DigitalDiva.  I appreciate your kind words!



Christie Photo said:


> Nicely done! You've got a good handle on background lighting ratio.
> 
> Have you ever worked with a large gobo? It may just be the last bit to make all of these truly amazing.
> 
> ...


 
Thanks Pete!  Always a pleasure to see your comments.  It means a great deal to me. 

No, I havent used a large gobo.  What kind do you suggest?


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## Christie Photo (Oct 3, 2007)

NJMAN said:


> No, I havent used a large gobo.  What kind do you suggest?



Well...  mine is rather old.  I don't know if they're still available.  It's a black Larson Reflectasol...  about 3x3.  I use it to make the lighting on the face more directional...  subtractive lighting approach.


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## wildmaven (Oct 3, 2007)

I like #8 the best. She's softened her "I'm gonna get you" eyes a bit, which makes it a more pleasing photograph of such a pretty girl. 

Not crazy about how the pose makes her upper arm look in #5.

Love the fall leaves background! Don't you just love this time of year?


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## NJMAN (Oct 3, 2007)

Christie Photo said:


> Well... mine is rather old. I don't know if they're still available. It's a black Larson Reflectasol... about 3x3. I use it to make the lighting on the face more directional... subtractive lighting approach.


 
Thanks for the input Pete.  I think I can get away with using my reflector disk and black covering.  Its 42 inches, so its quite large.  JubbaKing was also telling me about subtractive lighting.  I just dont think about applying it, and I should!    Thanks again.

NJ


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## NJMAN (Oct 3, 2007)

wildmaven said:


> I like #8 the best. She's softened her "I'm gonna get you" eyes a bit, which makes it a more pleasing photograph of such a pretty girl.
> 
> Not crazy about how the pose makes her upper arm look in #5.
> 
> Love the fall leaves background! Don't you just love this time of year?


 
Thanks Marian for the nice comments and critique.  Yes, this time of year is great for outdoor portraits, but it doesnt last too long!


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## JimmyJaceyMom (Oct 3, 2007)

2 and 8 for me!  Good job.


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## stellar_gal (Oct 3, 2007)

Great work NJMAN.  The colors and eyes are awesome as always.  Something we have come to 'expect' in your work, haha. I love #7 the most.  The girl is tack sharp and the background is perfectly seasonal for fall.  I can't wait to get those colors here.


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## oldnavy170 (Oct 3, 2007)

NJ, you really have become an AWESOME photographer!!!!!  I think you did exactly what the mother wanted when she asked for "Senior" looking portraits without making her look older.  These are so natural but glamorous at the same time!!!!  

Oh, and my favorite is definitly number #7!!!!!


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## NJMAN (Oct 3, 2007)

JimmyJaceyMom said:


> 2 and 8 for me! Good job.


 
Thanks Kathi!  Always appreciate it! 



stellar_gal said:


> Great work NJMAN. The colors and eyes are awesome as always. Something we have come to 'expect' in your work, haha. I love #7 the most. The girl is tack sharp and the background is perfectly seasonal for fall. I can't wait to get those colors here.


 
Thank you so much stellar_gal.  Oh no, now you have expectations from me! I dont know if I can handle that kind of pressure. ;-)  Just kidding.  You are very kind.  



oldnavy170 said:


> NJ, you really have become an AWESOME photographer!!!!! I think you did exactly what the mother wanted when she asked for "Senior" looking portraits without making her look older. These are so natural but glamorous at the same time!!!!
> 
> Oh, and my favorite is definitly number #7!!!!!


 
I so appreciate that.  Thank you oldnavy.  Your nice comments mean a lot to me!


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## heip (Oct 4, 2007)

Nice work NJ. The only nit pick would be... a little hot on the hair light for # 3 & #8 but doesn't really take much away from the shots.  Great posing, use of DOF & PP.

PS...I like the edit on the engagement shot.


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## NJMAN (Oct 5, 2007)

heip said:


> Nice work NJ. The only nit pick would be... a little hot on the hair light for # 3 & #8 but doesn't really take much away from the shots. Great posing, use of DOF & PP.
> 
> PS...I like the edit on the engagement shot.


 
Thanks for the critique heip!  That helps me improve.  And thanks for the opportunity to edit your engagement shot! 

NJ


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## zendianah (Oct 5, 2007)

NJ I love your posing ability. The kids look very relaxed and natural. How do you do that?  Stungun..   jk.


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## NJMAN (Oct 5, 2007)

zendianah said:


> NJ I love your posing ability. The kids look very relaxed and natural. How do you do that? Stungun..  jk.


 
I bribe them with cookies and ice cream. And if that doesnt work, I strap a large piece of extra strength double-sided tape to their backside, so they cant get up while Im shooting. 

Thanks for the nice words! These kids were really great to work with, so I didnt need to resort to any extreme measures....this time....layball:


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## Leo (Oct 12, 2007)

Wow NJ, nice work as always.


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## roxysmom (Oct 15, 2007)

Your pictures are wonderful!  I'm new to portraits so can you tell me how you did this outside?  Natural light is hard to get to look so soft.


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## NJMAN (Oct 16, 2007)

Leo said:


> Wow NJ, nice work as always.


 
Thanks Leo! I really appreciate it. 



roxysmom said:


> Your pictures are wonderful! I'm new to portraits so can you tell me how you did this outside? Natural light is hard to get to look so soft.


 
Thank you for the very kind words roxysmom. How did I do this? Well, I guess that would kind of difficult to sum up in a few sentences. But I can mention some things I have picked up on along the way.

I try to shoot either on bright sunny days or bright overcast days. 

If its a bright day with lots of sunlight, I always look for a shady spot. More often than not, I can find shade that has some nice soft ambient light spilling in from the brightness of the sun. I then position my subjects so that the soft ambient gives their face contour and dimension. I try to use highlights and shadows to their advantage as much as possible. But you also need to be careful that you dont put them in front of a busy or distracting (or too bright) background. 

If its a bright overcast day, thats a bonus all around. You can pretty much sit them anywhere and make sure the light falls on their face enough so that they dont have dark eyes. Again, the background needs to be non distracting, which means very out of focus, or if its close to the subject, it should be something that doesnt distract, such as water, a tree trunk, a wooden fence, or something natural like that.

On occasion, I use a large white reflector or fill flash to throw some needed light onto the face, or I use a black covering on the reflector to block harsh light (subtractive lighting, which Pete and JubbaKing taught me ). 

Hope this helps.


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