2 year old portrait

[cyclone]

One of my wife's friends asked for a maternity shot with her 2 year old. After that I took some of the daughter alone as well. I take a lot of younger kid's pictures; they are easy in one aspect and very hard in another. Easy because you don't necessarily have to pose them perfect like a adult - if you set them up initially, many times after they move around, their personality shows through, which is what you are trying to capture. Hard because they constantly move around, are distracted easily, and quickly tire of the whole process. This one turned out nicely; I'm still trying to get a nice even high key background on these type of shots.

[patterfr]

To my eyes this looks great!!
There is a little unevenness to the BG on my monitor but nothing that can't be fixed with a little dodging.
Great exposure and no overexposed edges light spill. I think you did a great job.
Cute girl, cute smile. Nice dress, pose, and purse. SHould I go on?
Great! I wish mine looked this good.
Let's see what the experts say.

[Rain Lily]

I'm not one of those experts, but I think this is really nice! GREAT expression and pose. I'll be watching to see what others say about this too, but I love it.
Sis

[cyclone]

Thanks for the comments, Fran and Sis. I've done this pose twice now for girls in dresses, and I like it. You just need to repose them and the dress every few shots because they get squirmy. The purse was my wife's idea to keep the hands still - just a brilliant idea.

[rebeccah]

Awww! How adorable. The expression and pose are lovely. I'm afraid I can't help with lighting a high key background as I haven't attempted it yet...lol. Great work!

[KellyL]

I know how hard these shots are to light, and I think you did a nice job. Good work.

[Maggie_B]

Absolutely adorable....and with that little purse...precious!
Exposure looks excellent and there is a little shadow around her dress to ground her so she isn't floating. Great job!

Mag

[Athena]

Very beautiful - I bet her Mum is thrilled. I know I would be.

[toto le robot]

a classic, perfectly done

[cyclone]

Thanks for the comments everyone; I've been trying to concentrate on these high keys lately, and I've been slowly improving.

Originally Posted by Maggie B

and there is a little shadow around her dress to ground her so she isn't floating.

I bought some shiny white panel board from the local Menards a few months ago. It saves wear and tear on the background paper, is easy to light, and produces a nice shadow/reflection on these type of shots. I got two 4x8 foot panels for less than $10 each. The seam between the two usually disappears in the lighting. I can't remember where this idea came from (probably someone on this forum), but it works very nicely.