Portrait help please

[snapdragon]

This is my attempt at a portrait of my grand son, it will be 11x14 & hang next to one i did of hes brother at a different beach ,was wondering if any of you had any suggestions on post editing ,or do you think it will work well with the other portrait .,I am just starting with the portraits and could use some tips , this one has been printed turned out well I think.

[xxpinballxx]

Have you tried turning them both B&W to bring the two closer together? I think the colors would suit a B&W...could be wrong.....the arm being chopped a bit distracts me and the face seems a bit blown out. Maybe add some color to the face same as the top of the head on the brother photo. I just think it would view better B&W with some adjustments. I'll be anxious though to see what the other more advanced photographers think.

[Saralonde]

I find myself a little distracted by the cut off arm and feet. Was this how you cropped it?

[RexK_Cozumel]

Yeah the cut off arm and feet bother me as well. but also I feel the bright red jacket he has on takes away from the subject but that could also be because of the blown out face.

[windrider86]

I do agree about the black and white. The red jacket is just too overpowering for him. Black and white could really add a lot to this picture.

[snapdragon]

Originally Posted by xxpinballxx

Have you tried turning them both B&W to bring the two closer together? I think the colors would suit a B&W...could be wrong.....the arm being chopped a bit distracts me and the face seems a bit blown out. Maybe add some color to the face same as the top of the head on the brother photo. I just think it would view better B&W with some adjustments. I'll be anxious though to see what the other more advanced photographers think.

Thanks ,unfortionatly ,the first one has already been done ,& with a bit of tweeking the blown out part of his hair was not noticable ,as I did not take these photos on the same day ,it is i am afraid going to be hard to match them up & B&W is not an option ,the arm being croped is due to a frame & not the photo it's self so that is not a problem , & i can add color to his face but that red coat , man that is giving me trouble . I am thinking re shoot , no red coat LOL .

[xxpinballxx]

another option although doesnt look to be a simple one is to select the coat and desaturate it some.....

[snapdragon]

Originally Posted by Saralonde

I find myself a little distracted by the cut off arm and feet. Was this how you cropped it?

The frameing is what caused the hand & foot to be croped ,I could change that , but it was used with the other photo , I think I am going to have to re shoot , thanks for your view on this , it is rather important to me to get these two photos to be a close match as they will hand side by side .

[snapdragon]

Originally Posted by xxpinballxx

another option although doesnt look to be a simple one is to select the coat and desaturate it some.....

Thanks ,I tried it but I am not that good at photo Editing & for me it did not work . I will re shoot ,& get rid of the red coat , I plan to return to the same place the first photo of his brother was taken ,wish me luck & any tips would be great . Thanks everyone ,it is so good to have a place where others will honestly tell you like they see it & help you get it better the next time .

[xxpinballxx]

hope you get the shot that fits the par....going back to the same place should be a great start.....maybe get him in the same position the invert the pic so on the wall they will face each other......good luck!