Portraits of Children Series by Charlotte Thompson

Hi Charlotte,

Choose one picture or two related images in the same style and we can all gain. In Photography as Art we deal with photography submitted as examples of what you can achieve and what it might represent as it impacts us. I'm impressed with several of your other images. But you have posted here 4 different styles:

• B&W full tonality
  
  
• Color with background photoshopped to some abstraction
  
  
• As 2 above but B&W
  
  
• Color and with forearm a mostly featureless blank surface.

If you are to be taken seriously, then some consistency is required long enough to allow for some focus on you as an artist with a way of expressing ideas which are your own.

So pick your style for posting in this forum or else we are lost! You can have up to 4 images as long as they are all needed to show your concept.

Just decide which one image is important and we can proceed from that!




Also images larger than 600-700 pixels wide, take up a lot of bandwidth and are slow to load. If your picture demands size to express fine detail, that's an exception.

Unguru
I thought all the shots were expressing my art- I am trying to find a voice with photography and am very new=
art is the exception of the eye-what I post I post as an exception to what I see and feel the shot tells-maybe a little childs story on a spring evening on my patio
sorry you are slow to load these shots- also I think there is a strong theme here maybe not exactly complete but a theme non the less-I am learning like we all are here
thanks for your crit-it's always nice to read what others think- you must be some person like -maybe Asher* any way if you are LOL on the unguru- I take my art very seriously I do* and glad you did like a shot or 2-gives me hope not to destroy my camera and eat my lens* very little if any photo shop was done to these shots and next time I won't put up as many shots-sorryy* just thought the theme worked- just tyring my little Texas Best* oh and btw- thanks for the challenge I work better under duress and consider it artistically a blessing**

Charlotte

Charlotte,

Thanks for the understanding! I want to be strict because that's what's needed. In literature we are told to "kill our darlings"! Why, after all they are our offspring. Now lets exclude the possibility that you are presenting a coherent body of work that really does stretch across the obviously different execution styles. It could be that you are some specially gifted visionary. If you are committed to a patchwork of styles, you must explain it better, since it disorientates me.

Just getting used to your work with missing parts of the image is a a huge jump in faith. I am looking for more of the same genre of your work and in the same thread so we can build on a way of you expressing yourself. Either we'll get it or not. Maybe you might be able to express your thoughts for each picture.

The picture of the boy belongs in portrait, not here. Perhaps the second picture is more related to the abstracted images you have shared previously. Still there's a major difference in that the girl is normally presented but her surroundings are not.

Asher

Asher

sorry- isn't it funny that a writer-poet can't express a different genre- only in the pictures not in words- I will do better for sure* It seems I dont know where to post my art-is it here or in portrait-
is art here or in another forum-what a great pondering hmmm
I guess learning to fly IS learning to fly- and I soso appreciate you killing my darling self!
my poetry is much like these pictures- some say savant- some say I don't get it
either way it's the way of my mixed expressions- I say I'm learning in both genres and will be blessed by those that MAKE IT HARD and ask more- so to speak-you are special

Charlotte

Well done Charlotte.

charlotte thompson said:

Unguru
I thought all the shots were expressing my art- I am trying to find a voice with photography and am very new=
art is the exception of the eye-what I post I post as an exception to what I see and feel the shot tells-maybe a little childs story on a spring evening on my patio
sorry you are slow to load these shots- also I think there is a strong theme here maybe not exactly complete but a theme non the less-I am learning like we all are here
thanks for your crit-it's always nice to read what others think- you must be some person like -maybe Asher* any way if you are LOL on the unguru- I take my art very seriously I do* and glad you did like a shot or 2-gives me hope not to destroy my camera and eat my lens* very little if any photo shop was done to these shots and next time I won't put up as many shots-sorryy* just thought the theme worked- just tyring my little Texas Best* oh and btw- thanks for the challenge I work better under duress and consider it artistically a blessing**

Charlotte

Click to expand...

Hi Charlotte,

"art is the exception of the eye-what I post I post as an exception to what I see and feel the shot tells-maybe a little childs story on a spring evening on my patio"

Charlotte,

What does it mean that "art is the exception of the eye". I am not challenging this, just want to know if that was sort of poetic or the basis for understanding.

What makes what you saw as an exception to what you generally see?

This is only an exploration.

Asher

Asher

no problem
for me it means

art is the exception of the eye

an instance that doesn't conform to a rule or generalization

that is a good definition of me and my art
I am one of those soooo non traditional types so to speak
its in my poetry and I hope it shows in my photos and will continue to behave suchly and become more as I go on
just my quirky self is all*

Charlotte

Blu

Peyton Rae- what do you guys think-color nothing was changed at all maybe it could be== but I want to ask ? I know the model is exceptional-
but I want to know about the shot-
what you think*

The angle is interesting. I love the light and skin tone on her face. The right side could be cropped out. I would love to see it rotated. Cute little one!

Actually, I pulled it from the site and rotated and cropped it. I can't post it without an upload to my own website, but, it works to do that. Try it.

What do I think? I'd LOVE to have a chance to shoot that child! Otherwise, I agree with Kathy.

Kathy

thank you
she is a very famous model in my eyes
I tried to crop without a loss and this is what I have
I don't understand many capabilites - sorry
I am really trying to catch up*
this is very raw-
I can enhance

Charlotte


R* dearest one

Say always' at you want
I appreciate u -so much*

Lighting, Child, portrait, hair, vignetting, highlight/shadow tool, red eye, skin

I love the child with hair cure hairband and look back at you. Yes that's great, but is it fine? We're about "getting to great", not a mutual ooh and aah society! Just because the little girl is the cutest doesn't give us an excuse for holding back as it simply does not help anyone and is boring! Let's make this picture work! Frankly, the Unguru wouldn't touch this! so here's my frank very basic but hardly sufficient or ultimate suggestions. Really one has to spend the effort before taking the shot. Here you are totally forgiven!

She's not shown in golden light that justifes this precious child! O.K., so we have no special lighting skills*, but today, so what if you have only God's light and photoshop. Simply using a few tools one can get most of the way.



1. Use CS3 adjustment from IMAGE in the toolbar and progressive parts of the dropdown menus:

-Adjustments
Highlighrt/Shadow

Adjust shadow seettings to bring the hair back.

2. Select the cushion at the left side and feather 30 pixels and copy to another layer. Select this layer and darken with Levels and blur (Gaussuan Blur) and blend back (using multiply) with the original image to vignette (gently darken) 3/4 of the cushion and bring the eye to the beautiful child.

3. Correct hint of red eye

4. correct the blue hued areas on bridge of nose and her left temple (this is thin skin showing veins)

5. Remove blue hue from sclera of eyes

6. Use Hue/Sat tool or patch tool/healing brush or other technic to get rid of the linear purple shading of skin below her left eye.

7. Reduce size to 700 pixels wide (using Image Resize- bicubic Sharper) which is perfect for the impact of the image and all the detail that is there!!


Why do we have to do this? Photography is not about telling the truth since it doesn't exist and has no purpose. The job is to best present a child with her nature. The tweaks will not harm her character, I assure you! Let's see if anyone can do better! It's simple not acceptable to not be challenged! Wow! I really am not mean...

Asher


* Lighting has to be worked on! Just get several large white cards to reflect light and you will improve. Add an electric light with temp of 5000 degrees Kelvin and you have spent $5.00! Do better with flash used only as fill at ~ 1/4 power. Best direct it to the white cards or ceiling not direct to the subject! Photoflex has inexpensive kits. The Strobist.com has great tips! Even spending hardly anything you should do better.

Hi Charlotte

I have tried to work on these a bit in Photoshop for you, I'm no great expert, but found a big improvement just for a little sharpening, then I used a little shadow/highlight correction, to bring back some of the detail in her hair, these are just quick rough attempts, and as I say I'm no expert, but I'm sure if you spent some time working on this shot it could be further improved.

These are just to give you some ideas, hope it helps.....

Hey-
Love what you guys did with this
just testing waters ok
found this late last night
didnt really know what to do with it so I placed pretty little Mudbug* in here
I do like all kinds of photography and dont want to be listed as only one style*
hugs to Asher BRB-

Charlotte

another idea in shades of sepia-

I can't get past that child's eyes long enough to SEE the background. What a beauty!

Rachel

sorry to be so slow in my response geesh!
I redid this in shades of sepia to better show degrees of color and intent
it seems almost bronze in tone

Charlotte

Hi Charlotte,

The picture works better in sepia as it removes the distractions of non-natural colors. Still the need for subduing distractions is still there but now not serious. Please look at the eyes! The sclera could be cleaner and the irises less harsh. She is a little chumpkin!

Asher

Hate to be the dissenting voice, but sepia removes that startling blue of her eyes. Lose the background, keep the blue. That's my take on it.

Thank you both-I cropped as much as I could on both sepia and natural and just for fun added another touch of my coloring to the same shot- kindest regards to you both

Rachel,

Franky the first of the three is precious. The sepia is fine but too dark and the eyes need to be less saturated and the sclera whiter..

Asher

I love the first of the most recent 3 posts.

What an astonishing child!

My pick as well Rachel-
if I could have her eyelashes only!

Charlotte

the breathtaking unevil claudia

for Asher-

A study (in the eyes of a child)

I love the very challenge a child brings-to find real self in such a small human-no other colorings-just straight shot- would love to hear what say you guys-

Hi Charlotte,

It looks like you've captured some "real-self" there - she does not look gleeful or sad or any other simple emotion - just aware and engaged.

I noticed her big eyes and small lips and I was reminded of the typical depiction of aliens (no reflection on the photo)

It seems you used a large window for the available light - did you use any reflective fill?

Edward

those shots were taken in early evening light -light source from the West setting sun
inside an open but covered patio-no flash was used-nikon d-40 with a micro-nikkorr 105mm
thanks for coming in and for your reply to my work- the child is beyond beautiful and I do a lot of work with her- one other charming expression in sepia-











Charlotte-

Sepia Portrait

Looking at the child in shades of sepia- holds such a warmth around the subject-I would like to read what you think please-

Stunning (not a word I use much), both of them. I think I might like to see a little more contrast in the second image.

Wonderful stuff, well done.

Nill