simple B&W portraits

[texxter]

After dinner my kids and I did a quick stock session in the kitchen. My daughter went first and followed my instructions and we got nice pictures. then my son came to the "set" with his own ideas - most of his ideas were great, I just didn't have enough time to go after them. So he settled for a little idea, listening to music, after we did some images with fruit.

I promised my boy that we will implement his idea when we have a bit more time to do it right - he wants a picture that shows him at the movie theater, eating popcorn and enjoying a good movie. He told me that he wants it to look "real" so that's my challenge for some other day.

For today, I like the simplicity of these images. The white background and the black and white treatment reduce them to a minimalistic study on expressions.

Lighting was also simple - an octabox to camera left with a piece of foam core board to camera right acting as fill. The octabox was positioned so as to feather the light and help with wrap-around fill. The background was a 4x8 ft piece of foam core board lit by a strobe bounced off an umbrella. The surface they are leaning on is the kitchen table.

C&C welcome!

#1. My little girl interrogating me with her sweet eyes. She was determined to make the shoot work.



#2. My son relaxed in front of the camera, really enjoying his fruit.



#3. This was my boy's idea, and I helped a little with the pose. He was actually listening to a song on my iPhone.

[texkam]

he wants a picture that shows him at the movie theater, eating popcorn and enjoying a good movie. He told me that he wants it to look "real"

.... another art director. : )

You've brought a nice richness to these images!

[texxter]

Thanks, Mark. I can tell he's now getting into it. Also into motorcycles - I took him for an "ice cream Sunday ride" at night and he's hooked and wants me to go on the bike everywhere at night

Here is the simple lighting diagram.

[ukneeq]

Great as always Paco. You are very lucky to have such good helpers! I think I need to start and get some of my own I also love your diagrams that show how you have everything setup. What do you use to create those?

[kkingdallas]

Paco,

These are wonderful - as usual! I too appreciate your willingness to share your knowledge, experience -and diagrams. I can't wait to see your implementation of your son's ideas.
Let me know when any of your neighbors decides to move. I want to be your new neighbor so that I can play too!

Kathy

[RKEnnis]

Nice series, Paco! Thanks for posting the lighting diagram.

What is even more important than the photos is the fact that you are interacting with your kids, while doing what you love! You will cherish these moments...

Thanks again for another informative post.

[texxter]

Thank you very much to your comments!

Fedil, I agree with you that there is probbaly too much negative space on the first one, I liked her expression and I don't have it in landscape format. I may crop it a little. The template I used for these diagrams is by Kevin Kertz.

Kathy, I appreciate the kind words... hahaha, wouldn't it be nice to have a street full of photographers?

Randy, yes, engaging the kids in the creative process makes a big difference. If I say "let me take a picture of you" they'll run away. If I say "It would be cool to photograph you pretending to be Spiderman and resting on that wall over there" then his eyes open up and the response is "can we really do that??" - it's the beginning of a collaboration!

[reader0428]

The old adage that has been drilled into my head for years: "People support what they help create." Works every time!

[texxter]

Originally Posted by reader0428

The old adage that has been drilled into my head for years: "People support what they help create." Works every time!

+1

Indeed!

[DoublyDan]

Originally Posted by reader0428

The old adage that has been drilled into my head for years: "People support what they help create." Works every time!

Wow, I hadn't yet heard this before...This sums up many thoughts that I have been having recently about people and causes...

Paco, something struck me in the first one but I can't put my finger on it...At first I thought your daughters skin was a little too dark then I thought it was the white of her eyes, then I read about the negative space...don't get me wrong, it's a beautiful image...dunno..Thanks for sharing.

[kevinspeedsk8r]

simple setup for you hah,who has a strobe and reflector at the dinner table lol awesome pics not because their kids all around great pics,sharpness,pp,lighting is all on point here thanks for sharing!

[lenron]

Love them! Too too adorable...

[texxter]

Dan, Kevin, Nino, thanks for your comments!

Dan, my daughter's skin gets very dark with the summer sun, but the fact that she's on a white background makes her look darker. I didnt edit her eyes at all. In fact, I didn't do any editing on these images, other than B&W conversion, making sure the background was white, and cropping.

Kevin, well, yes, I used big lighting equipment around the kitchen but the same effect could have been achieved with a portable flash and an umbrella. The strobe I used puts out 1,200 watt-sec of power, but I only used about 200 or so. And the reflector is a $5 white core foam board from Wal-Mart. One of the things that I really enjoy about photography is being able to manipulate light, but without restricting it to a studio environment. In this case I did't use the kitchen as the background because I needed a white background for my stock imagery, but in the recent image at an Italian restaurant I used the background I found there to add more context to the picture. Using studio strobes or portable flashes on location is really cool!