Baby photos? Not anymore...

One house tradition here is that we see "baby photos" from the archives once a week before bedtime to tell stories of how things were during those good old days when Jr. or little one were teeny and tiny!

The babies are growing up fast!

Here are some photos from a backyard photo session this week.

here is one where she didn't know the camera was still rolling.. 

Jr. is a big girl now, almost as tall as her mom and the same shoe size. She is making a claim for some of mom's dresses like the pretty frocks and that was tolerated.. Now she started touching the Jewelry and tensions in the house are high!  You want to mess with the Sheik, fine.. but taking those oil wells.. you have crossed the line mister! ... something along those lines... tension!

She looks exactly like my sister at the same age.. This week I accidentally called her by my sister's name and Jr. was giving me the "What the hell?" look. Had to explain to her that for a few seconds it was like my sister was standing in front of me.. frozen in the eighties. She even stands with her toes bent weird!

Worked very hard to make her smile with lips open but this is the best we got. She is still conscious of the braces. Hopefully those come out soon and we can have Jr. smile like she used to without being conscious of anything.. 

Well, another week has rolled by and I learned a lot this week.. some stuff at work, human relations, cooking, dealing with tweens.. etc. etc. 

Planning to teach them both how to "code" at home using some online guides and free ware. If you have any recommendations for materials or tutorials to help introduce "coding" to kids, please let me know. Was watching a Youtube video where this guy Chamath was being interviewed and he was right on. Teach your kids how to code if you want them to have a nice future! 

Java is going to be the Yajur Veda for Jr. and the little one. Maybe I should turn Java into a hymn for easy memorization and make them sing it?! Yet again, the brain is getting all funky on me.. should go eat something and slap myself back to reality...

Experiments with backlight

Cowboy Studio kit -> Lighting experiment -> no one willing to help with the learning -> No problem!

Spent most of the day reading a book that will help with work. Finally finished it off. Wanted to do one last test before going to bed. The wife and kids are not going to help with this, so it became a self portrait experiment.

Key light -> Check (direct light or bounce main flash off wall)

Fill light -> bounce flash off floor

Back light -> Yes vs. No using secondary slave flash

and yes.. the "cowboy" triggered the idea of using a hat and black San Francisco jacket..

Looks like Daddy Narayanan is no cowboy. Also realizing my weight loss for the first time in a close up picture. Now I know why my mother was so unhappy with the yoga making me skinny to a point where I look malnourished! 

It is good for the tummy to be toally gone but my cheeks have disappeared as well and that needs to be looked into..

This one almost works.. except the slave flash, which is a 280 speedlite seems to flash full power. If there is a way to reduce it or put a diffuser there, that would help. Took 10 shots with different light combinations and two came out okay. Have a lot of learning ahead to figure out this whole lighting scheme..

The portaits take a backseat for now and we will do landscapes over the break!

Experiments with Black Muslin

This mornings first attempt with black muslin background..

and the end result which requires a lot more photoshop than the white background, possibly because I did not use the backlight to get her hair outline lit up in the shot. 

Also, any dirt or blemish on the black just picks up light like that... so the trick seems to be to place the model farther away from the background when it is black.

Have to stop the experimenting for now and get back to work, errands etc.

No more holding foam boards

Child labor laws in the Narayanan household now prohibit using the little one as a "light girl" or "grip" or whatever the movie term is for a person supporting the cameraman with the lighting setup.

The lighting positions have been set after at least 20 flash photos of Jr. and the little one, who were extremely patient with daddy as he kept saying "no", "not good enough", "lets try again" etc.

Were it not for the fact that all this posing comes with the Daddy's birthday gift pacakge (pre negotiated) we would not be here within 24 hours!

You can see part of the setup here..

and the final result after minimal photoshopping..

Spent a good hour ironing the muslin cloth to take out the creases it it. One downside to ordering this online. It came nicely pacakaged like a dhoti that makes it way from India for Diwali and ends up looking like a lungi of sorts in photos because of the rectangular creases from suitcase compaction! 

Have a few more kinks to iron out and we are there!

San and the kids have made my birthday very special by getting me something that will keep me occupied and searching for perfection without leaving the house for some time.

Portrait Festival

Yes, every year during Golu season Daddy Narayanan organizes what is called the Portrait festival where the two girls have to pose for portraits after their dress up routine.

This years Portraits below..

Next year we have to custom stitch stuff for Jr. She has outgrown readymade Paavaadai sizes as of this year!

That means yours truly is growing old and needs new camera equipment to cheer him up! Certain fokls who are traveling in India right now need to make note of above statement...