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

I am Still Me: A Story about a Transgender Boy

Meet Leo. Leo is 15 and currently going through an epic transformation that has momentarily turned the lives of himself and those around him upside down. A mum who once had the daughter she always longed for is now coping with the realisation that she will be living the rest of her life with a son instead. When your child is born you have certain expectations of the typical life they will lead but most of us know and accept that it won't necessarily end up the way we imagine. Not every person wants to marry, have kids or be involved with the opposite sex. Most of us have come to accept this and can adjust to whatever comes our way relatively easily. But few of us have expected to have to deal with a change in sex. Its not that we've hoped it won't happen, but just that it never occurred to us that it might. This is a new adjustment that we as a society are being presented with today, just like so many others that have come before. When I first heard that Phoebe ...

Winner of the Master Photographers Association's UK Family Portrait Award

This year for the first time I decided to join the MPA (Master Photographers Association). As a qualified member this entitled me to compete amongst other professionals throughout the UK. Last night the awards ceremony was held at the Hinckley Island Hotel (amazingly close to home for a change) where I received the news that my family portrait won its category. I am over the moon that it was a unanimous decision from all judges who felt it stood out against all others in the category making it the clear winner. And to have John Stoddart, a man who has photographed a great number of A list celebrities, present the award telling me this is a fantastic image was the icing on the cake. I'll admit that I have never really regarded family groups as my strong suit. They are hard work and not always the most challenging creatively. Until now that is. This project which I consider to be a joint effort along with my clients involved much planning and creativity. Together we came up...

My Associate Panel

As I mentioned in my last blog, I achieved my Associateship in Portraiture with the SWPP (Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers). I just thought I would share with you the panel I submitted. Having sat through the assessment I see that there are a couple of images that I wish I hadn't chosen, more so due to not having enough variety rather than the lack of quality. but overall I am pleased with my submission. I always thought that once I achieved my Associateship I would be done with qualifications. Working towards a Fellowship just seems so unattainable. I don't think I can just sit here not striving towards a goal though. Besides, my husband has already set 5 year plan. So I guess I've not seen the end of qualifications just yet. But don't be expecting any news on this front for quite some time though. A fellowship is on an entirely new level and its going to take a lot of work.

Family Portraits - With the Entire Family

I recently had the pleasure of photographing Mum and Dad, their Son and Daughter and their Son and Daughter's families. It made for a portrait of 10 people altogether which of course comes with its challenges. But we got their in the end and I'm thrilled with the results. The hardest part of course is getting everyone looking their best in the same photo. It rarely works out in such a large group but I managed to get several with only a couple of Photoshopping, head swapping requirements. But my skills are up to that challenge quite well these days so I'm almost always quite confident that everyone will be happy with themselves in the final family portrait chosen. And I have to admit I love the challenge of taking a great face from one image and making it fit so no one notices in another image. As is usually the case, I also photograph the large group in smaller subsections as its a good opportunity, while everyone is d...

More Workshops for 2011!!

This year we've decided to launch a schedule of 5 training events. Our training is designed as an introduction to lighting and workflow or a confidence builder for those who feel they've lost their way or never really got it straight in the first place. The day is split in two with the first half looking at lighting. We cover high key, mid key and low key set ups explaining each light required in detail with time allowed for each attendee to have a play with the studio lights themselves. After lunch we then look at workflow. We take your through importing and sorting images in Lightroom, making adjustments and enhancements in Lightroom followed by exporting to Photoshop. We then take a closer look at the imges in Photoshop, going over the ways in which we treat all our images. This includes the use of Kubota Actions. These workshops are running on the following dates: Wednesday February 16th Tuesday March 8th Wed...

Christina Lauder Portraits

Search This Blog