I'm pretty happy with how this turned out though I realize that if I ever went pro as a baby photographer, I'd have to wash under the noses of my subjects...With my son I barely even notice... all I see are his eyes.


K200d with the Super-Multi-Coated Takumar 50/1.4 at f/2 I think...


This is a lanscape oriented crop from a portrait oriented shot, ergo cropped in quite a bit...

[rmtagg]

Awe, how cute!

[heliphoto]

Thanks Rosemary... I know I think that, but I'm biased.

[devisor]

Thanks Rosemary... I know I think that, but I'm biased.

arn't we all with our children

really neat picture.. the eyes really stands out.

[spyglass]

Nice shot, (keep and maybe play up the nose snotta for a later date - like his wedding or first girlfriend). You could Photoshop the nose residue away for the short term and allow the views focus to keep fixed on those eyes. I would love to see this shot with a little selective colouring (a very subtle blue for just the eyes while leaving the rest as a B&W). And yes I agree that we all have subjective loving eyes when it comes to our own kids.

[LaRee]

Well I can sure see why you can only see his eyes. Beautiful! Although he is a cutie all the way around. Look at his lips.

[gawan]

Amazing eyes!

[cupic]

So very serene ,I like it well composed


cheers

[MRRiley]

Very compelling portrait and I agree, he has beautiful eyes...

I'm gonna go out on a limb here though and provide a little constructive advice. As is, the shot is very flat tonally. Note that (at least on my monitor) there are no pure blacks and no pure whites. Increasing the brightness a bit and the contrast about twice the brightness increase yields much better tones. Should be a very quick fix either in just about any PP application. Play with it until you have a full tonal range (think "zone system"). Just watch the highlight on the top of his ear. That blew out fairly quickly and might take some mid-tone adjustments.

[heliphoto]

Nice shot, (keep and maybe play up the nose snotta for a later date - like his wedding or first girlfriend). You could Photoshop the nose residue away for the short term and allow the views focus to keep fixed on those eyes. I would love to see this shot with a little selective colouring (a very subtle blue for just the eyes while leaving the rest as a B&W). And yes I agree that we all have subjective loving eyes when it comes to our own kids.

Oh, yeah, I'll keep it for blackmail, meanwhile I've done a bit more PS cloning/healing to it, plus played with selective coloring and tone etc... Various examples below. Thanks for the comment and feedback.

Well I can sure see why you can only see his eyes. Beautiful! Although he is a cutie all the way around. Look at his lips.

You can't go wrong complimenting my boy. Thanks!

Amazing eyes!

So very serene ,I like it well composed


cheers

Thanks...

Very compelling portrait and I agree, he has beautiful eyes...

I'm gonna go out on a limb here though and provide a little constructive advice. As is, the shot is very flat tonally. Note that (at least on my monitor) there are no pure blacks and no pure whites. Increasing the brightness a bit and the contrast about twice the brightness increase yields much better tones. Should be a very quick fix either in just about any PP application. Play with it until you have a full tonal range (think "zone system"). Just watch the highlight on the top of his ear. That blew out fairly quickly and might take some mid-tone adjustments.

No limb you're out on there, I appreciate advice. I've played around with the image a few different ways, but before you see 'em, a few caveats...

• I just learned the most I know about the zone system by browsing a web page about it the other day (I'll buy a book about it soon, I promise.)
• My boy is very pale, so I tend to keep him pale in BW also.
• My MacBook isn't the best for PP (esp. BW) as the contrast changes drastically with the tilt of the screen. I've read the opinion that it is worthless to calibrate these screens since the contrast is so variable with angle, so although I've done a software calibration, it is dificult to know whether I'm conveying my vision out to you all. (excuses, excuses...)

so here's a few new versions, all based on a bit more face cleanup...

In PS, desaturated all but the eyes, and back in Lr altered the curves and contrast/exposure a bit. Note, in the reflections you can see green grass, blue sky, and my arms horizontally bracketing the pupils.

Next, turned the green grass blue, toned down the sky, and desaturated my arms...

Here's a BW version of the first in this post...

And here's that image with the some of the eye lightened.

[spyglass]

Very compelling portrait and I agree, he has beautiful eyes...

I'm gonna go out on a limb here though and provide a little constructive advice. As is, the shot is very flat tonally. Note that (at least on my monitor) there are no pure blacks and no pure whites. Increasing the brightness a bit and the contrast about twice the brightness increase yields much better tones. Should be a very quick fix either in just about any PP application. Play with it until you have a full tonal range (think "zone system"). Just watch the highlight on the top of his ear. That blew out fairly quickly and might take some mid-tone adjustments.

Hey MRRiley....... talking about "zones" you are definitely an Ansel Adams fan. I have read several books by Ansel Adams and studied his 1941 (and Fred Archer) zone approach to photography. He even stated in several of his books "every great photo has an ultimate white (10) and absolute pure black (0)". He was admit about full tonal range / representation in shots.

[Jimbo]

Loved that age... beautiful shot Heliphoto.. JIMBO

[MRRiley]

All of the new versions are much much better. I do like the first one best with the full colors in the eyes. They look like jewels in that one and really bring the shot home.

And yes, I'm an Ansel fan. I met him back in college (over 25 years ago) and fell in love with his imagery.