Critique How Time Flies

[Terri French]

Nine years ago.... The twins are 14 now and older brother turns 16 in a few days. I'm so glad I have photos to bring back the memories of my grandchildren. Jaden is now obsessed with basketball and the twins love skiing.

I decided to turn this one into B&W. My goal was to keep the look soft....not grungy or harsh since they are little boys. I would love to know what you think. Thanks, Mike Buckley for getting me going on this black and white adventure again. I may even learn to love black and white photos more!! I'm thinking that converting photos of people to black and white is harder than landscapes. The skin tones are tricky.

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

EDIT: At Karen's suggestion, I lightened the twins' lips on the right side.

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

 

[Mike Buckley]

I would be happy if I had made that conversion and, for me, it clearly meets your stated objectives.

The skin tones are tricky.

Indeed, Caucasian skin tones can really be tricky. A green color filter works best on them but we have to be very careful about both the shade of green and the strength of the filter. Otherwise, the skin tones will appear to have imperfections that aren't noticeable in a casual observation of the physical person.

 

[Terri French]

I would be happy if I had made that conversion and, for me, it clearly meets your stated objectives.



Indeed, Caucasian skin tones can really be tricky. A green color filter works best on them but we have to be very careful about both the shade of green and the strength of the filter. Otherwise, the skin tones will appear to have imperfections that aren't noticeable in a casual observation of the physical person.

Thank you, Mike. I did use the green filter, but it made the lips a dark red. I had to work on adjusting it. I also used control points on the lips to bring the brightness on them up a bit. Thank you for your feedback. I think I might print this one because I love the expressions on the boys' faces so much.

 

[Mike Buckley]

I did use the green filter

When choosing a filter color, does your software allow you to select any color in the range of the spectrum seen by the human eye or does it limit you to several specific colors?

 

[Terri French]

When choosing a filter color, does your software allow you to select any color in the range of the spectrum seen by the human eye or does it limit you to several specific colors?

I am using silver efex pro. It lets you choose from the spectrum. I started with the green button then moved the slider to choose what I thought looked best.

 

[Butlerkid]

Terri.....FANTASTIC photo!!!! DO print it!!! The only thing I noticed was on both twins - the lower right side of the lips are very dark. Don't know if you could lighten them or not............

 

[Hylander]

I really like this -- the joy of childhood, a distant memory for me. I would suggest you take a photo of the boys as they are today in the same configuration, with maybe just a little more contrast to mark their advancing maturation.

 

[Terri French]

Terri.....FANTASTIC photo!!!! DO print it!!! The only thing I noticed was on both twins - the lower right side of the lips are very dark. Don't know if you could lighten them or not............

Thank you, Karen. I agree about the lips. I’ll try to lighten them.

 

[Terri French]

I really like this -- the joy of childhood, a distant memory for me. I would suggest you take a photo of the boys as they are today in the same configuration, with maybe just a little more contrast to mark their advancing maturation.

Thank you! Now that would be a miracle if I could get them to let me take another photo like this. Teenage boys aren't as easily convinced that grandma needs to take photos of them!! But it would sure be fun to try!

 

[Bart]

Beautiful work, Terri!
Great b&w conversion.

As it happens, my eldest daughter has the same combination but with 3 girls and about that age today.

 

[bsinc1962]

Wonderful picture Terri. I'm always envious of those who can take good people pictures.

 

[Terri French]

Beautiful work, Terri!
Great b&w conversion.

As it happens, my eldest daughter has the same combination but with 3 girls and about that age today.

They are fun when they are teenagers, aren't they!! They may not want me to take lots of photos of them anymore, but they sure make me laugh.

 

[Terri French]

Wonderful picture Terri. I'm always envious of those who can take good people pictures.

I only take photos of family members and it makes me nervous. It was easier when the kids were little.

 

[Terri French]

Here is another one.... This was taken the same day. This young man is so handsome now. Luckily he isn't too interested in the girls yet, but they sure are interested in him!! I forgot how good that Olympus 45 f1.8 lens was.

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

 

[Mike Buckley]

This young man is so handsome now.

He was handsome way back then, too! Nice photo!

 

[Terri French]

He was handsome way back then, too! Nice photo!

Thank you Mike.

 

[Pa]

These are very well done, Terri. You have a knack for eliciting great smiles from your subjects that I seem to lack.

As for critiquing, I wish there were some way to increase the contrast between the boys' faces and the very light background, but that is beyond my pay grade, as they say.

 

[Phil K]

Very nice conversion! Soft but not lacking details, giving the image a very pleasant feel.

 

[Terri French]

These are very well done, Terri. You have a knack for eliciting great smiles from your subjects that I seem to lack.

As for critiquing, I wish there were some way to increase the contrast between the boys' faces and the very light background, but that is beyond my pay grade, as they say.

Honestly, Jim, their mom probably got them to smile like that. She probably posed them, too. She was a professional family photographer for several years until working nights and weekends got too tiresome for her. I'll see if I can darken up the background. I agree that it would improve the photo, but I'm not sure I have the skills to do it.

 

[Mike Buckley]

I wish there were some way to increase the contrast between the boys' faces and the very light background, but that is beyond my pay grade, as they say.

That would actually be pretty easy to do using the control points in Terri's software. Even so, I like the bright, airy look in the background because it complements the mood of joviality that is so evident on the boys' faces.