My daughter

[ecp1977]

First time poster. I wanted to share and solicit critiques on these two photos I took of my little girl. I was trying to put her down for a nap and she wanted to play peek-a-boo. There was good natural lighting so I ran and grabbed my camera and she cooperated.

Nikon D60
Nikon 35 mm
Shutter Speed 1/60
Apperature F1.8

[isfppoet]

...because these turned out awesome. Cute kiddo.

With the shutter speed you used, I'm a little surprised they didn't turn out a little blurry, but I also have shaky hands, so 1/60 is a little slow for me, especially if the subject is likely to move (kids/animals).

Was there something in particular you wanted critiqued?

I like your DOF, it works very well. I think I would have tried a slightly larger aperture just to get her fingers/fingertips in focus on at least one hand, but the way you did it really draws attention to her eyes.

I also like your composition on both of them, hehe. I would have included a wider shot like the first one with her slightly off center as well, but I really can't say I see anything with either photo that should be adjusted. If it were me, I'd probably experiment in Lightroom with a brighter exposure just to see how it turned out, because I always end up liking post-processed better than straight out of the camera. However, these look great as-is.

Technical things aside, I really like how you captured her smile in her eyes despite the fact that her smile isn't visible. Did you get one with all of her face showing?

[photofe804]

I love both shots. I really like the shallow DOF, and at least at this size the eyes look nice and sharp. Even seeing only a little bit of her, it looks like you have a beautiful little girl!

[kleidascope]

the eyes are awesome! Great place to start that's for sure. Get the eyes and the rest is history so to speak. Great DOF.

Do you have any portrait actions for post-production just to smooth and even skin tone of the skin? It just gives it that 'finished' look.... kwim? These are great images.

[ecp1977]

Thanks all for your comments.

Isfppoet,
After I looked at the photos I thought about a larger apperature to get her fingers in focus, as you pointed out but I wanted a really shallow DOF. I am not sure what exactly I wanted critiqued, I just was very happy with how they came out and wanted peoples opinions of them.

Kleidascope,
I have Photoshop Elements 7 but still learning its ins and outs.

Thanks again!

[isfppoet]

Originally Posted by ecp1977

Thanks all for your comments.

Isfppoet,
After I looked at the photos I thought about a larger apperature to get her fingers in focus, as you pointed out but I wanted a really shallow DOF. I am not sure what exactly I wanted critiqued, I just was very happy with how they came out and wanted peoples opinions of them.

Kleidascope,
I have Photoshop Elements 7 but still learning its ins and outs.

Thanks again!

No biggie, it was just a thought. I like them as they are.

On second thought, her eyes are most definitely the most interesting and striking feature of your photos, and your DOF draws the viewer's eye straight to them.

[Swisstony10]

Originally Posted by isfppoet

...I like your DOF, it works very well. I think I would have tried a slightly larger aperture just to get her fingers/fingertips in focus on at least one hand...

You meant a slightly SMALLER aperture the get the increased depth of field there, didn't you? I know, I know - you were so taken by the cuteness of the picture, that you got it the wrong way around by mistake...

Russ.

[Indigo November]

Adorable! How old is she? Love the DoF BTW.

[LoveDSLR]

Originally Posted by ecp1977

After I looked at the photos I thought about a larger apperature to get her fingers in focus, as you pointed out but I wanted a really shallow DOF. I am not sure what exactly I wanted critiqued, I just was very happy with how they came out and wanted peoples opinions of them.

Good capture! "If you can't fight them (OOF) then join them instead."

Sample for illustration purposes.

[isfppoet]

Originally Posted by Swisstony10

You meant a slightly SMALLER aperture the get the increased depth of field there, didn't you? I know, I know - you were so taken by the cuteness of the picture, that you got it the wrong way around by mistake...

Russ.

Yep. Cuteness and all that. I was probably secretly thinking larger F-number, but either way, you got me red handed, lol. I said it wrong.

Btw when I made that suggestion, I wasn't suggesting an alteration, but rather what I would have done in addition to the above photos. And then picked my favorites. I like taking a bunch with different settings just to see what they look like, mostly because I don't have DOF preview on my camera. I'm also still learning this stuff, so I can't always predict exactly what's it's going to look like from the settings, hehe.