One boy & his rock

[chunky]

Hi,
I'm more of a sports photographer, but i take a lot of photos of my kids. My Son is a real poser, so i get the chance to take shots like this.
I've posted this else where, but hardly any comments at all, and, as i think it's one of my favourites, i thought i'd show it here & see if anyone can give me some constructive critique where necessary.
Shot with a Canon EOS 40D
Shutter Speed: 1/64 second
Aperture: F/5.6
Focal Length: 35 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Shot in B&W.
A little bit of work in PS to bring out the clouds, but apart from that, completely untouched.


Thanks for looking
Dave

[SusanH1970]

Cute! It's underexposed, though, I'm not crazy about the dead-center composition, and it looks like the focus fell on the rock - his face is pretty soft.

[tott7000]

I agree with Susan, crop out the bottom, a little on the right, and try to brighten his face a little. Dramatic pose and super cute kid.

[chunky]

Yes you're right, the focus did fall a bit too much on the rock. i should have sharpened his face a little more in the editing. (i tried to do as much as possible in-camera)
The dead centre composition is a definite fault of mine, i tend to do it far too often. & it DOES look underexposed for some reason here. the original file isn't this bad, so wondering if thats due to photobucket.
Thank you very much for you comments & time

[SusanH1970]

Originally Posted by chunky

Yes you're right, the focus did fall a bit too much on the rock. i should have sharpened his face a little more in the editing. (i tried to do as much as possible in-camera)
The dead centre composition is a definite fault of mine, i tend to do it far too often. & it DOES look underexposed for some reason here. the original file isn't this bad, so wondering if thats due to photobucket.
Thank you very much for you comments & time

Focus on the eyes when you take the shot - you'll get much better results than trying to sharpen in post processing. Hope this helps.

[chunky]

Originally Posted by tott7000

I agree with Susan, crop out the bottom, a little on the right, and try to brighten his face a little. Dramatic pose and super cute kid.

Thanks very much tott7000. even though i understand composition & the rule of thirds & all that, i'm still guilty of ignoring them way too often
Thanks for your comments

[chunky]

Originally Posted by SusanH1970

Focus on the eyes when you take the shot - you'll get much better results than trying to sharpen in post processing. Hope this helps.

Yes, thank you very much Susan. I'm more used to focusing on fast moving motorcycles. But this portrait shooting is fun
Thanks again for the help

[SusanH1970]

Originally Posted by chunky

Yes, thank you very much Susan. I'm more used to focusing on fast moving motorcycles. But this portrait shooting is fun
Thanks again for the help

Yup, and I'm used to taking kids' portraits, so I'd be hopeless at shooting motorcycles! You're off to a good start, though, and you've got an adorable model to practice on. Looking forward to seeing more from you.

[Jim Bryant]

Wow! That's an outstanding portrait! Next time try breaking out your flash set the camera's FV compensation for flash at -1.5 or 2 and the flash at maybe +1. The camera will underexpose for the background to bring out the dramatic clouds and sky, while the flash will output enough for the rock and kid. You might have to play out with the flash output to balance foreground and background. Nevertheless.......great portrait.

Here's an example of a swimmer taken at the high school pool.
Date: 1/7/10
Time: 3:26:52 PM
Latitude:
Longitude:
Model: Canon EOS-1D Mark II
Serial #:
Firmware: Adobe Photoshop CS3 Macintosh
Frame #: 2447
Lens (mm): 300
ISO: 1000
Aperture: 3.2
Shutter: 1/250
Exp. Comp.: -1.5
Flash Comp.: -2/3
Program: Manual
Focus Mode:
White Bal.:
ICC Profile: Adobe RGB (1998) (embedded)
Contrast:
Sharpening:
Quality:

[chunky]

Thank you very much. He's such a poser, but he's getting older now & isn't playing along so much. Luckily i have a gorgeous 1yr old girl too. She'll be my next model
Just checked your photos, & you do take some great portraits.