All c&c welcome.

Cool familial memento. Nice soft light.

Kaden,

Thanks for the comment.

At his age he's still unable to hold his head still which made for an interesting situation.

I've got all week to fill up several cards

regards,

Bob

A good candidate for b&w.

Kaden,

Very nice job, I'll have ago at it - somewhere I never shoot grandchildren or pets in BW? Guess rules are made to be broken

<edit> They approve

Silver Efex Pro?

Another, this time giving 'Mom' her time in the spotlight...

For the first image, may I suggest an alternative crop, with some dodging and clone stamp work plus tweaks to exposure, vibrance and hue/saturation? I've taken the liberty to illustrate.

I do like Kaden's B & W quite a bit.

When he's a bit older, try putting him on his tummy. He should push himself up and you should be able to make some very nice images.

I quite like the send image and the B & W version, too. May I suggest a small tweak to exposure and gamma, dodging her teeth a little and a little polishing with the clone stamp as a minor set of tweaks that should be easy to apply?

AuntiPode,

By all means, tweak away

Thanks for your comments and re-work. So far I'm most taken by Kaden's BW rendition - never fails to amaze me

Here is another ...

Nice B & W version!

BTW, one good way for her to hold her son to best advantage is to place one arm under him and to use the other hand to cradle his head. When he is a little older, there are many more posing opportunities.

AuntiPode,

Thanks for the kind comments. She's trying to coax a smile which he does more often while 'standing'.

He's getting to be a chunk, which is nice considering he weighed 4# (7 week preemie) - now 3-months - and comfortably fit one's forearm at that time.

regards,

Bob

Years ago, when I earned my living as a portrait photographer, a significant portion of my subjects were infants and small children. There are techniques for posing them and capturing smiles that vary based upon age and their capabilities. I learned the basics from a couple of old photographers. Unfortunately, it's easier to explain techniques by demonstration than by explanation. A video might help. Perhaps one exists on the net somewhere.

AuntiPode,

Thanks for the suggestions - I'll see what I can find...agreed that the sack-of-potatoes model doesn't quite cut it aesthetically

Bob