Inspiring Photo: Baby Boy Blues #14188150

Baby Boy Blues

Uploaded: October 18, 2013

Description

Exif: F Number: 7.1, Exposure Bias Value: 0.00, ExposureTime: 1/200 seconds, Flash: did not fire, compulsory flash mode, ISO: 400, White balance: Manual white balance, FocalLength: 75.00 mm, Model: Canon EOS REBEL T3i

Comments

Jill Odice October 18, 2013

What a cutie! Love those baby blues! #1549068

Joannie Bertucci October 23, 2013

My favorite subject...little boys! :-) Marvelous portrait work Dayna! This should be the autumn cover of Parents Magazine! #10879351

Michele Peterson November 18, 2013

This is adorable, I the serious expression, and those amazing blue eyes!! #10902106

Nikki McDonald November 18, 2013

Cute, Dayna. They should be thrilled and so should you. Nice favorite. #10902223

Richard Lynch November 20, 2013

Neat shot, and great eyes. Shooting people is a different type of challenge and you do a nice job here.

The balance on the shot over-all seems a little blue though...It helps bring out the eyes, INDEED, but changes the skin as well.

I did a quick adjustment on the balance here using Photoshop Elements and Levels... Ieft the eyes out of the change so they would retain the blue.

What do you think?

Richard #10903397

Richard Lynch November 20, 2013

Ugh... Uploaded the wrong version. Let me try that again... #10903413

Richard Lynch November 20, 2013

... #10903425

Richard Lynch November 20, 2013

... #10903426

Dayna Cain December 02, 2013

I just saw your version of this pic. Could it be the color difference in monitors? My original pic doesn't look "blue" on my monitor but in the version you uploaded here, his hair looks very orange and his skin has a yellow tint. How can I test my monitor for color accuracy? I had a set of prints made at Mpix and the color was accurate. #10913252

Richard Lynch December 02, 2013

it certainly can be, but if it is true you will probably want to make an adjustment. if you are not seeing "common" color, your images will appear to other people to be off... and yup, you can profile the images and get decent output depending on how you tag the images.

you may want to consider a calibration device...

Richard #10913438

Dayna Cain December 05, 2013

I have looked at this pic on 4 different computers with 4 different brands of monitors. My pic doesn't look blue on any of them but your version looks orange on all of them. What the heck? #10915250

Richard Lynch December 05, 2013

Well, that's interesting... I am "traveling" currently (technically more like unsettled) and am using my laptop. Even if I take care of calibration religiously, I don't like to use a laptop for judging critical color... On the other hand there are a lot of things that can cause discrepancies, and that starts with difference in individual vision. I don't know, for example, how "orange" you are suggesting the skin is... I can assure you that is not what I see on 4 distinct devices (two cell phones -- different brands, a Windows PC, and a Mac laptop). I do tend to like saturated images, so that may explain some difference...But lets step back from there and look at color process and what you are comparing.

When you say you have compared this on 4 computers with 4 different brands of monitors, are these systems all yours?

If they are not all yours, do you know how the color management is set up? Have the machines been calibrated in some fashion?

Are you looking at the image on the Betterphoto site? Or are you opening the image in some other program?

A point of interest... there is a banner at the top of the betterphoto page near your image -- you won't get the same one because the advertisement is for Bucharest -- but there are a string of wedding photos. The skin tones in ALL of the photos contrast the skin tone of the boy -- he looks blue by comparison. Maybe some comparisons will help the discussion?

Richard #10915454

Dayna Cain December 05, 2013

I have looked on my computer at home, three computers at work, an iPhone 5 and now an ipad. I viewed the pic from the BP website every time and I have no idea what the color management is on ANY of these devices but you now have me convinced to go to the eye Dr. hahahahahahaha! #10915564

Richard Lynch December 06, 2013

I promise you I am not trying to make you feel you need a doctor! I am just surfacing possibility. Everyone has a preference for how they see color and the world, and to me toning down the blue often brings out the warmth and light. Skin tones are tricky, and color management is often a mystery. However, I usually play it relatively safe in color and color management (the latter can lead to disaster if you don't know about it), so I am surprised you see the color density as heavy. I'm not sure if that is bad...maybe its a gift.

If we all saw things the same way, we might tend to have the same opinion and we'd have unanimous opinions about good, better and best. Our vision and interpretation lead to our unique perspective (or vice versa ;-)... Perhaps you and I just see things a bit differently.

This image of yours seems to have more of the tone I'd expect...

http://www.betterphoto.com/gallery/dynoGallDetail.php?photoID=12688719

Is that too yellow/orange for you?

Richard #10915873

Dayna Cain December 06, 2013

I see what you are talking about when you compare the two shots. The little girl's pic was shot indoors with an external flash thru a white umbrella and the little boy's pic was shot in the shade with available light so I decided to do the ultimate test. I called my sister who doesn't care to bust my chops in a brutally honest way and told her to compare my pic and your version of it on her computer. She said mine looked blue and yours looked orange! I haven't stopped laughing! This conversation has definitely opened my eyes and I will definitely pay attention to skin tones now. I have made an adjustment to the pic. How's this? #10915890

Richard Lynch December 06, 2013

hahahaha. That response from your sister honestly made me laugh out loud. I can't deny: I still see too much blue here in the new version.

I am insensitive to light conditions when it comes to the result. You shoot in the shade, you can still correct to incandescent light skin tones if you want (you would be appalled!!). You shot this in the shade and maybe that tempers your expectation of the result, and maybe that's why you like it this way. It is impossible to call it right or wrong -- a preference.

Keep at it! Skin tones are important, but correcting the gray is what I do to neutralize color balances. gray only comes in one shade ;-)

Richard #10915895

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