Wednesday, February 16, 2011

B Rockin' The Open Shade

I am learning all about shooting in open shade and I am loving it.

If you do not know what open shade is, here's the definition I found on better-digital-photo-tips.com.

Open Shade is shade that is in the shadows of large buildings, under big trees or other area that still allows a large light source to illuminate your subject.  Benefits of open shade: NO harsh highlights from the sun, no squinting, and an even light source.  

No more flat light on my subjects!!!  At least, I hope not.  I still have a long way to go, but I have learned so much during the last few weeks and I am thrilled.

Nikon D90.  Lens 50 mm-f/1.8
Settings: 1/640ss, f2.8, ISO 320.
I should have lowered my ISO, or at least I think I should have, allowing a slower SS.  

After


Before

Edited in PSE 8/ACR.  Adjusted white balance, exposure (+0.05) , and brightness(+8).  Used the clone tool to clean up his snotty nose (Gross...I know).  Cropped it, just a little.  Used the Unsharp Mask.  Used healing brush tool to touch up his skin, a little.  Added a levels adjustment layer.  I increased the whites, before applying a soft light blending mode at 20% opacity.  

I am so pleased to say that I did not touch his eyes!!
Learning to capture catch lights in the appropriate natural light situations has been fantastic.

22 comments:

flat yeast bread said...

So cute, and great edit! The main thing that sticks out to me, is that i would try to crop him a little more to one side or another...... I can see he isn't perfectly centered, but he still 'feels' more or less centered.

Unknown said...

Love the shot and that you did NOT touch his eyes! You can definitely see that you are understanding light and placement of your subject - who by the way is super cute!!!!

Anonymous said...

I love the edit! Warms him up beautifully! Can't think of a thing to critique. =)

bek

Unknown said...

Nice edit. I also like that you didn't touch up the eyes. Too often I see eyes over done. Too funny on the snotty nose. Made me laugh. With three of my own it seems like I'm always blowing someone's nose (or touching it up in ps!).

Martha said...

Adorable! And I'm really impressed with how natural the edited one looks.

Courtney K. said...

Such a sweet photo! I might would zoom out just a hair so you don't crop out his chin. And maybe position him to either the right or the left. :-) Love that you didn't have to touch his eyes. So sweet!

Sandy said...

I opened the post and murmured woww...what a great picture...any mom or dad would love a close-up like this of their child...snot and all!
It captures the essence of so many moments of your child looking up at you.
With this photo, I can really see the value of all that photo shop editing you've been learning. Very nice.

Brianna said...

I love this shot!! And I love his eyes!! I don't think I'd change anything about this photo! Nice job!

Heather said...

The warmth and brightness is wonderful!

elizabeth said...

awesome job -
i too love catchlights!!

Mommy2Four said...

If I had a dime for every booger I had to clone, I'd be one rich Mama! lol!

Really cute shot and SWEEEEEEET job on the eyes :)

If I had to critique something, I'd say I'm not totally in love with the crop....I'd prefer it either out more where you get his full face, or brought in a little tighter even......it's so hard to figure out crop though without having the photo right here to play with...hehe. I also would try to get him a little more off center..

Really, really cute shot though! Love the processing too!

Unknown said...

great light change, it really brings out his eyes!

Anonymous said...

Great edit.

R and J Studios said...

nice clean edit!

Gina Kleinworth said...

Great job. I'm such a newbie that I didn't know there was a term for that type of photography. That is what I try to use nearly all the time. I love shotting in natural light now that I have a camera that doesn't require a flash for everything. I have a couple rooms in the house & 2 covered porches that I try to use for most of what I want to capture. I love how I can get so much light with out the harshness of the direct sun. Since I am such an beginner - I don't have all the lights & equipment needed to shoot any other way. Who new that making due with what I have (lots of natural sun) is actually something others seek out. :)

Kristen said...

Great edit! His cheeks are so precious!

Trish ~ ♥ ~ said...

his eyes are beautiful and his smile so sweet

Anonymous said...

So cute! Love those cheeks!

katy said...

Gorgeous as always, Amber! You made the comment on my blog about not being able to find the time to sew, how could you with all of the time you are putting into becoming an A+ photog!
I am in the stage of trying to give a little to each of my creative juices and I am not able to fully focus on one right now, and that's okay. Next up: painting. :)

Pixel Perfect said...

This is a cute shot. I love the edit and I love overall photo. The only thing I would have done differently is smoothed out his skin and edited out the nose crusties. :) That's where I spend most of my editing with my son...cleaning his nose.

Courtney said...

Great job with open shade! I'm a HUGE fan of open shade myself as well!! His eyes look amazing and you captured some beautiful catchlights :O) Well done!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful shots and cute kid!
Greetings.