BOY TRAPPED

Where the inside of my mind leaks onto the screen.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Little Red

My little Dylan is an adorable red head with fair skin.  But anytime I try to take a picture of him, he looks like a blotchy red mess.  I swear his skin doesn't really look like this!  I need help from my photography minded friends so I know how to capture some decent pictures of my little guy.  I don't want to remember him this way!


Okay, ignore the fact that I obviously should have wiped his boogers and eye goobers before this picture, because I know how to fix that in the future.  Other than that, though, this picture is a pretty good example of what I'm talking about.  Check out the ridiculously red eyelid under his left eye.  His little eyelids have a tendency to have some redness, but the flash just highlights it.  And in real life, his skin looks creamy and pale, but in pictures it is red and splotchy. 

Is there anything I can do from the camera end to fix this?  Will a certain background color help?  Lighting?  Camera setting?  (I have a pre-SLR camera that I really don't know how to fully use... I almost always shoot on auto.)

Are there some magical photoshop tricks I can use to fix these pictures after I've already screwed them up?

Dylan will be turning 5 months old on the 7th, and I'll be wanting to shoot some pictures of him at that stage.  How can I get a decent shot?

2 comments:

Kris said...

I wish I could help you out! I took lots of photography classes, but I don't recall ever learning how to get rid of red blotches and such. Kristyan Williams might have the answer to that one.

PhilHall said...

For what little it may be worth from a non-photographer, I've been told that stock flashes just suck and never to use them. Without spending thousands for pro flash systems, try some bright workshop type clip-on lights, or better yet a sunny day. Obviously this cramps the spontaneity of the moment... but that's the best I can do for now.