Tired model

[ELAY]

I got my three year old at bedtime, hot and humid, suffering the tail end of a cold -- therefore sluggish and unable to flee my camera.

My bedroom (which is conveniently decorated in mostly monochromatic beige) has two northeast facing windows and gets nice light in the evening. Here is one shot, in colour and b/w.

I am really trying to improve my portraits, so all critique welcome.

EL

[stevesutt89]

I like the colour one the best. If you cropped the empty top and a bit of the right space off this i think it would be great.

[Digidave]

Excellent shot! I too like the colored one best. How can you give up those big brown eyes! Nicely lit also.

[photonovice]

ELAY,

Very nicely lit picture - and cute model too :-).
Ambient light, no strong shadows.
The shadow on his right is not too dark and gives great 3d to the picture.
What focal length did you use for the shot?
I would not crop further but rather took it wider on his left giving a bit more space.

Is your model better by the morning? :-)

Sincerely,

[yokolok]

Nice lighting...but i would suggest a tighter shot...

[thingy]

looking good elay. Nice skin tones and very sharp throughout!

G

[wulf]

Personally, I prefer the monochrome one. The green T-shirt dominates the colour version and your son fades into the background (although, since he was tired, I can see how this could be an artistic decision).

A tighter crop would work - how about going for a square, cropping off the crown of his head and perhaps the tips of the fingers on his left hand to push for that "fill the frame" feeling?

Wulf

[ELAY]

Thank you all for your comments

What focal length did you use for the shot?

I used my 50 -- shooting him when sluggish is key with this lens because it is manual focus on my D40. And, thanks for asking, he seems in better shape this morning.

A tighter crop would work - how about going for a square, cropping off the crown of his head and perhaps the tips of the fingers on his left hand to push for that "fill the frame" feeling?

It's funny you should mention trimming his fingertips, because I got a few shots I otherwise quite like where I cut of those very same fingertips inadvertently. Here's one. Obviously I will try to avoid in the future, but how serious is it? The shot works well as a tight, fill the frame shot, but I like the extension of the arms and if I crop it anywhere else below his shoulders he looks like an amputee.

Original:



Here's the tighter crop:



Thanks again.

EL

[angeleyes216]

I love the first coloured one. So cute and beautiful colour and expression. thought cropping fingers and hands was not such a good thing, like i was told all or nothing, or is this different with each photo?

[angeleyes216]

I went into the photo studio here in fort wayne and this style of print seems to be very popular. Not quite sure why but i guess we each have our own likes and dislikes. What do you think?