Superclass at the Societies Convention on Child Portraiture

This is already starting to feel like ages ago even though it took place less than a week ago. But I thought I'd share with you what we got up to at 9am on Sunday after the Awards dinner.

I began the class with the usual Power Point going over what to consider when planning portraits. We covered clothing choice, appropriate props, lighting patterns, white balance and more. And then we went into a lighting demonstration.

(Thank you to Lee Broders for supplying me with some images - I've never had any photos of me working like this before)

I was fortunate enough to have a wonderful little boy named Noah join us as my model. He made the journey from Leicestershire just so he could model for me (and enjoy a day out in London). I was so glad he came in the end because he did exactly what I wanted him to. He posed lovely in his usual sweet style and helped keep me at ease when demonstrating. You never know what you will get with children and having a room full watching isn't the easiest place for a 4 year old to perform, but he did.

During this class we talked a bit about posing, lighting, sorting and processing. In the end there was so much to cover I'm not sure I did it all justice and perhaps next year this could actually be 2 separate talks. I'm sure I could have stretched this to 8 hours. I'm just not sure how best to break it up. Any suggestions are welcome.

I would like to share a few finished images. The first 3 illustrate the differences in fill intensity, as we briefly discussed during the class. I would have preferred a much stronger contrast between the 3 but hopefully this explains it well enough.

(A Strong Fill Light)

(Fill Light that I think is just right)

(No Fill Light)

Now as I said during the class, this all comes down to personal preference and the subject at hand. Consider the image you wish to create when setting your lights. The key light is where the correct exposure must come from. The fill light just opens up the shadows to the degree that you feel is necessary. And thankfully we shoot digital so its easy to see if we are getting what we want quit quickly. The more you get to know your equipment and your desired effect the easier it will be to set the lights without even thinking about it.

And here is another image where we tried to get the white background to go very dark. This is something that is easy to do with a little more space and a grid applied to the keylight to stop the fall off from reaching the paper. Unfortunately we were just a little too close and too much light was hitting the background paper. But hopefully you still get the point.

I've finished these images as covered during the class. This is also typical of the way I often process my own studio work and it is much the same as the work I did on my Fellowship panel.

For those in the class I hope you gained a lot from it. You are welcome to get in touch if you have any questions. And for those not in the class, maybe I will get to see you next year. I will hopefully be speaking there again. In the meantime if you wish to attend a class with me, either as a group or on a one to one basis please get in touch. You can reach me on 01455 611069 or email me at christina_lauder@btconnect.com.

Comments

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 ...

Burbage Carnival 2009

For the past few years my husband and I have been attending the Burbage Carnival and remarking to ourselves at how much better it could be. The carnival seemed to be declining in recent years. Earlier this year I met someone (Harvey) who mentioned that he joined the committe. When I asked him why he said he had been remarking that the carnival could do with some improvements. The response he received was rather than complain why don't you join the committee and do something about it. Its hard to argue with that. The following week I found myself, along with my husband, at the Burbage Carnival meeting. And we've been attending (most meetings) ever since. With this being our first year we didn't want to dive in head first. We contributed where we felt we could but it was great to see that what little we were able to offer still made a difference on the day. We're now very much looking forward to seeing just how much of a difference we can make next year. I just hope it ...

5 Reasons you Should Consider Getting a Professional Headshot

Headshots, or profile pictures are becoming a requirement of so many tools we regularly use or reference today. From Facebook to Linked In, Instagram to Twitter and often any website that represents a company for which you work or own will have a place to include a photograph that is meant to show your audience who you are. And how you present yourself there will tell your audience so much about you. 1. A profile picture is your first opportunity for your audience to see you. Its often the first impression you make and we all know you only have one chance at a first impression. A professional photographer has the skills to show you in the best, most suitable way to give a great first impression. (These headshots were created for recruitment firm Optima UK who asked to have their logo placed behind them. I think it makes these headshots quite eye catching and they should do their job well.) 2. Using a professional to create your headshot will ...

Limited Edition Storybook Portrait Sessions

Well in the end I didn't take this promotion as seriously as was required in so much as I didn't allocate any budget for advertising. I relied only on the few posts on Facebook and as such I only did 2 sessions, which to be perfectly honest, was all I could handle this year given that I'd not properly planned for these sessions in an already busy time of year. However, what I did do proved to me that this is something that deserves proper attention and a concerted effort to push this promotion forward. I thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of it, from shopping for props, to the sessions and then the editing. I really love the fun that these sessions provide and the look of the finished images. Spring will see a second go at this special collection with plenty of advertising in the run up to our event. I will get another chance at shopping for additional props and tools to run this limited edition promotion and I can't w...

A Most Wonderful Portrait Session with 3 Lovely Ladies

This was a dream session for me. Not only did I have 3 beautiful young ladies, but they also brought with them a fantastic wardrobe and their very own hair stylist too (mum owns her own salon). So all the elements for beautiful portraits were there. And I was thrilled to get this opportunity. Its easy to think of having portraits when you have a new baby or when you get married or have a special family occasion where you get the entire family portrait done. But its less often that people think of having their growing children photographed. After all I suppose, they are photographed at school. I even do some of those school photographs. However, those portraits are made in less than a minute per child and they are assembly line style portraits while they are wearing their school uniform. They are never going to be as special as what can be created with unlimited time and outfit changes in the comfort of a private studio. Its in this environment that I can take the time to...

Christina Lauder Portraits

Search This Blog