need advice.

[Paul]

THis is not outdoor related but I need advice on a picture or set of pictures actually that I took of my nephew for his sr pictures. problem is, he has autism, and with it comes some interesting challenges on some facial features. He has a large Mole, which is more like a birth mark on the side of his face/chin, so it looks as if he has food smeared all over his chin. Part of me, says clean the pictures up and make him look clean, and part of me says to leave him as is, remove some pimples, etc and leave bithmark/mole. I am really struggling with this one. His Mother is also. I will post a picture each way, and go from there.

Paul

Pre Proccessed

Post

[finnbay]

Paul, that is a tough question. Over the years I have always deferred to the parent's and/or student's wishes. I've had people ask to take glasses off (after the photo session, no hint during the shoot it might be a problem), do breast REDUCTIONS, change eyes from one photo to another, ADD an arm, take that mole off but leave the other one. Did one whole shoot with a special needs child that the parents decided that it was better not to have any photos (they gladly paid me for the session and thanked me) and so on. I think that you having done it both ways is a good way to go. They may decide one way now, and change their minds later. I think it is a wonderful, pleasing and flattering photo. For my taste, I think the PP version is just a tad overdone, but that is in the eye of the beholder. Good luck!

[CAMAN]

I agree with Finnbay with being slightly overdone. He has a slight halo or something that reminds me of a memorial/obituary photo and not of a senior picture. It is a great shot but I think you could throttle it back slightly and sharpen it a tad. I'd also have to see what the mole looks like after touch-up to say if it is really distracting or not. But if it were my decision I would probably leave it and lighten it a bit so as not to distract from the rest of his face since it is something he was born with and not a pimple, scar, etc..

[Paul]

Thanks for the Advice Guys. The halo'ish effect is a from a Soft Focus technique that his Mom wanted for a couple images. she wanted that misty feel. THat photo was in now way done, it was just a quick example to run past his mom. This is one of the reasons i Hate doing things for Family, they expect me to make the best decision, because they dont want to make it themselves and make the wrong decision. When I gave them the proof book I had some examples of each, and I guess I will see what they say. Hate doing senior portraits no matter who the client, but sometimes, we have to take the good with the bad.

[Deitz Dittrich]

Me personally, .. Photo #1 by far.. Crop, maybe give a little more color.. or go black/white..

We are who we are.. I know thats now what the kids and yups feel now days.. but really.. I like the marks.. It makes him who he is.. He is unique and need to be proud of what he has that I or anybody else does not.

[hookncook]

I shoot a lot of special needs kids. My son has autism, so I have his friend's parents ask for shots. The biggest issue i face is involuntary facial movements.

I find the involuntary facial movements occur less when the child is doing something, so I focus on action shots and then crop in on the face. as far as altering shots go, that's a tough one. I'm sort of a purist when it comes to photo editing too much, the occasional zit yea, but defining features no.

I'm not going to tell you how to fix your shot because I think you gotta listen to your gut and your nephew's mom. But I would say I like #1 the best.

[Surface Tension]

Remove pimples and temp blemishes of the like but leave birthmarks alone.