Freddie Returns!

I had another fantastic shoot this week. We spent an hour or two trying different looks with some different props I recently found at an antiques fair. I love antiques fairs by the way. Its a bit of a treasure hunt. You never know what you're going to find and each prop gives something different to my portraits. And with each prop is a little inspiration.

This session was with an existing client so I took the time to do a little experimentation. I have an old backdrop that I kept meaning to use although never found a way to use it effectively. But the antique props got me thinking that maybe this traditional backdrop would be the perfect match. If this didn't work it was being put away for the foreseeable future.

In this session I used both natural light and studio light. Our studio has some lovely light coming in through our tri-fold doors. I always get great results using this light which works very well for young children.

And then came the processing. I don't want to produce just snaps. I want my work to develop into a unique style that is my own so much of the results here comes also from within the computer. For some of these images the background was heavily worked on to give it more of a feeling of art and less of a photograph. This idea of producing art has always been our aim. Anyone can snap a photo and cameras are a plenty amongst almost everyone. So we put so much more into our portraiture which helps differentiate us from others.

At the moment the jury is still out on the backdrop. So I would love to get some feedback from anyone reading this. If you have an opinion you'd like to share either leave a comment below or click through to my Facebook page (link on the right) and view the images individually where you can comment on specific photos. I'd love to hear what you think of the Photoshop treatment and overall style as well. Thanks.

Comments

Unknown said…

I absolutely love the final image. The lighting and everything is just perfect. The others are good but the backdrops don't work quite as well in the earlier ones of Freddie in the suitcase. You sort of get the feeling that he's almost floating in front of the background. The composition is of course great in all cases. Is this helpful? I assume that the background you are talking about is the marble effect rather than against wood.

22 February 2011 at 20:35

Sarah Janes Photography said…

I just love this set of images...I even love the backdrop. Just so refreshing after years of white backgrounds. More images like this please xx

22 February 2011 at 20:46

Christina Lauder said…

Thanks Su for your comments. Yes your comments are very helpful. And I can see what you mean about the backdrop. I too like the wooden floor better. I was afraid this backdrop made the images look too much like the sepia old fashioned prints you can get in shopping centers while you wait, if you know what I mean.

Thanks again.

22 February 2011 at 20:56

Christina Lauder said…

Thanks Sarah. I'm still torn on the backdrop, like I mentioned above, but I don't think I will give up on it just yet. And I agree completely with you regarding the white background. It has its place but I love that I don't use it very often anymore.

22 February 2011 at 20:59

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