Cynthia is a Family Photographer in Northwest Ohio. She photographs on-location candid and emotive photography and serves the Toledo, Sylvania, Maumee, Holland, Perrysburg, Oregon, and Northwest Ohio areas. Cynthia is available for maternity, newborn, baby, children, and family portraits and lifestyle photo sessions.

Family Photographer in Northwest Ohio

I was inspired to take this portrait after a similar photo popped up in my Facebook memories of my middle son cozied up with a blanket on his head. The red hoodie on his sweater was perfect for a similar feel of coziness.

Settings

F 1.4, 1/800, ISO 2000

Before & After

I sat him down on the floor in a spot that gets beautiful directional light on cloudy days. Then, I asked him to look towards the window so that the light would be on the front of his face.

When you are photographing toddlers, you have to be fast! I took a few of him in this spot before he was done.

Typically, I always start with some color adjustments- like exposure, contrast, white balance, etc. I also love to use the Merdian presets as a base for my images in ACR before bring them into Photoshop.

I knew I would be darkening the background in post-processing but before I did that I adjusted the color of the wall just a bit using the selective color adjustment. If you’ve never used this tool, it is super fun! I like to play with the sliders until I get a color that I like. I wanted the tone to be a bit on the green side, which is super easy to do when you are starting with a blue tone.

Next, I edited out the electrical outlet and widow using a combination of the patch tool and spot healing brush.

Finally, I cropped the image using the 8:10 ratio. I did also keep the original crop for printing since such an extreme crop can affect the quality of a print.

Want to learn more about photography? Cynthia would love to hold a photography class for you and your friends. Use the contact tab for more details.