Chloe in the Bubblegum Light

[OrcaBob]

This is Chloe, the niece of a teenage model I work with. Chloe is fascinated by her young aunt's modeling and we're able to get her to pose for a few minutes at each shoot. But she's four years old and has a typically short attention span. A few breakneck minutes with her and... poof! She's done.

At this shoot, we were able to get her to stay in one place because of a bubble machine.

The lighting is strange because I was experimenting with a pink-gelled backlight behind a high-white muslin backdrop that was being used as a huge softbox off set to the left.

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[NCPhotoTrekker]

I really liked the last picture you did with her using the bubbles, but this one isn't really grabbing my attention. The lighting is good as far as the shadows...a little pink, but I think that was your intention. What gets me is the one bubble on her temple. It is a distraction since it is so dominant without balance from other bubbles. A little reflector under her face would have helped out with the pronounced bags under her eyes as well. They make her look much older than she is.

[Steve (FloppyDog)]

she's four years old and has a typically short attention span. A few breakneck minutes with her and... poof! She's done.

I'll bet! You've captured that "I'm a handful" look in her eyes. ;D

[OrcaBob]

Sept 11, 2009 22:01:33 GMT -5 NCPhotoTrekker said:

I really liked the last picture you did with her using the bubbles, but this one isn't really grabbing my attention. The lighting is good as far as the shadows...a little pink, but I think that was your intention. What gets me is the one bubble on her temple. It is a distraction since it is so dominant without balance from other bubbles. A little reflector under her face would have helped out with the pronounced bags under her eyes as well. They make her look much older than she is.

I'll definitely act on the suggestion about the bubbles. I don't want to take the big one out, but I'll add more.

As for the lines under her eyes, that's a dilemma. This was actually one of the more subdued shots of her eyes. In some, her eyes look like Marty Feldman's. SERIOUSLY bugged out. If these were strictly for home use I'd ask the parents if they wanted the eyes worked on. However, they're trying to get the kid into modeling and fixing the eyes is a major no-no in a modeling portfolio. I can edit out zits and bruises, but even moles are problematic if they show up on the model but not in her portfolio. It's like lying on a resume. I once got sternly lectured by a model a foot shorter than me, because I took out all of her moles in a "port" shot.

On the other hand, I could soften the lines, especially under Chloe's near eye.

Thanks for the feedback, guys!

[NCPhotoTrekker]

I can certainly understand why retouching is a major no-no for model portfolio. Maybe its just me, but I don't really see where she has much of a future as a model at least at this stage of the game. Too many things on her face are out of proportion. Then again, I'm not a big fan of child models anyway.

[OrcaBob]

She doesn't have a classically-structured face but once in a while an unusual face is just what a casting is looking for. She probably won't be doing any conventional children's fashion work, but she might do very well in TV ads. You might recall the scrunchfaced kids in the Life cereal commercial ("Mikey likes it!").

I'm curious to find out if she grows into those big eyes. She probably will. I'll have to ask to see her 16yo aunt's infant pictures sometime. That would be Nicole, the girl in the mirror in the other thread.

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[NCPhotoTrekker]

Yeah, hopefully she will grow into her face, but her dimples are cute as can be!! She would do well in commercials no doubt...its the face that mom's just want to eat up, which does wonders for product sales.