focal length: 50 mm
shutter speed: 1/250
aperture: f/2.8
ISO: 500
flash: none
I tried to get a picture of Sophie holding the pinwheel out towards me but I had to surrender in bitter defeat. I wanted a shot focused on the pinwheel while she was in the background, slightly blurred and to the right of it. Alas, it never came to fruition and I ended up shooting the pinwheel on it’s own.
I liked the composition but the photo needed a bit of pop to be more interesting.
*click to enlarge
I played with exposure, increased blacks and clarity quite a bit and adjusted the saturation and luminance of Magenta. You can see the values I tweaked in Lightroom above.
I really like the before and after view in Lightroom. It’s always so amazing to see what changes you can make in about 20 seconds. Export into JPG at the size I want and it’s done!
Kate asked to see our crafty photos. I’m not so crafty myself but Sophie’s grandpa made her this impromptu pinwheel with scrap paper and a wooden chopstick. A quick, easy and aesthetically beautiful toy that provides days of fun!
Laura is a Vancouver portrait photographer. Visit Dolce Life Photography.
[n.] a resource for parents who wish to take sweeter pics of their kids.
Copyright © 2009 Dolce Pics. All rights reserved.
sweetsalty kate
Jul 7, 2008 at 6:36 am
I love this! Wonderful, sharp lines… just so appealing. And great processing, too - I didn’t know lightroom had a before and after view. I’d love that.
MNkathy
Jul 7, 2008 at 10:34 am
Gorgeous! Love the before and after as well.
Joanna
Jul 7, 2008 at 10:59 am
I love the end image. You processed it really good. Lightroom looks interesting. I wonder how it compares to PS7, which is what I use.
Stacy
Jul 7, 2008 at 1:51 pm
Love the colors in this shot. I know how you feel when it comes to planning shots…it never comes out like I imagine!
Christina
Jul 7, 2008 at 6:44 pm
Ah yes…sometimes our shots just don’t happen as planned! that’s the nature of working with squirmy todders….but I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Still, you captured this so nicely!
laura
Jul 8, 2008 at 12:33 am
Thanks everyone! I didn’t want to overdo the processing but still make it look more dynamic than the original.
Lightroom is such a time saver and I like how it doesn’t touch the original files. It just saves the values you’ve changed so you can always revert back to the original.
Sarah-Ji
Jul 24, 2008 at 8:20 am
That’s funny you shot a pinwheel for this tutorial! I got a shot of Cadence w/ a pinwheel for 4th of July:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sierraromeo/2636574244/in/set-72157605965823480/
I guess pinwheels are a summer thing! I have to check out the before and after thing on Lightroom. It’s hard to believe that a mere 15 months ago, I was post-procesing in MS Photo Editor (which I still really like for certain things on the fly when I’m at work).