My brown-eyed girl....

[jax314]

This shot is SOOC except for a slight crop.....this is the best I could do since I made a framing error and cut off a portion of her foot....

Is this overexposed? Also, is it sharp enough? Any other critique is welcome as always...

Thanks!



Nikon D5000
Exposure: 0.005 sec (1/200)
Aperture: f/14.0
Focal Length: 35 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: On, Return detected

[FallinWoman]

Could you have shot it without the flash if you used a lower f-stop? I love the setting, beautiful subject, and the crop is great (other than the foot, which you already noticed!). The onboard flash just creates some harsh shadows that aren't as flattering as natural light.

[LoveDSLR]

Originally Posted by jax314

This shot is SOOC except for a slight crop.....this is the best I could do since I made a framing error and cut off a portion of her foot....

Is this overexposed?

Yes. Why SOOC? Here my quick pp version.

[jax314]

This is SOOC camera because I'm still trying to LEARN what needs to be fixed before I "fix" it.....I wanted a trained eye to be able to tell me if this was overexposed so I can get a better feel for exposure.....I wanted a trained eye to tell me if they thought it was sharp enough...

To me I thought the sharpness was good but it was alittle overexposed.....so I wanted second opinions so I can get a better sense of this for myself in the future.

As for the flash, I used the flash as fill flash because this was taken at the worst time of the day outside when the sun was very bright and right above us....

I like your edit, but I hope you understand why I have not tried to produce a final image myself....the critique is used for me to learn what needs to be done beofre I do it

Thanks for the help...I'll take more suggestions if you have them!

I'm especially interested in the sharpness...I have the sharpness in my D5000 turned up quite a bit because default settings were soft in my opinion....

I know I should shoot RAW and sharpen during post...but I wanted to know if JPEG sharpness now was good in case I want to do a quick shoot like this again...

[jax314]

It may also help me if you let me know what you fixed in the picture, why, and especially how......

I appreciate it!

[jax314]

Any other thoughts?

[LoveDSLR]

Originally Posted by jax314

I'm especially interested in the sharpness...I have the sharpness in my D5000 turned up quite a bit because default settings were soft in my opinion....

Generally sharpness is low priority for me. Otherwise, I would be shooting most of my portraits with a macro lens instead of a 85 f/1.2 L II (average in sharpness and lower contrast). Getting the focus and DOF right are far more important.

Originally Posted by jax314

It may also help me if you let me know what you fixed in the picture, why, and especially how......

I appreciate it!

Increase the Clarity and Vibrance slightly for the greenery.
Fix overall exposure and WB.
Fix skin tone.
Darken highlights and lower the midtone contrast of the subject.
Repair the overexposed parts of the face.
Adjust the background (greenery) to complement the subject.
Darken the dress and increase contrast.
Sharpening.
Apply Orton Effect for a softer look.

[Vagebond]

I'm just learning digital photography myself, and like you I'd like to get the best possible photograph straight out of camera, with as little post processing as possible. So this is not advice as such, but just thinking what I might try, and hoping that more experienced people will chime in, teach both of us a thing or two

F18 at ISO 200. I wonder if ISO 100 and a lower F-number might reduce the depth of field just a bit, though at 35mm. it might not be noticable at this distance from the background.

I do believe this photo is just a bit overexposed, the tip of her nose and her cheeks under her eyes look just a bit blown to me. Perhaps a little less fill flash, achieved through flash compensation? Though the shadows, especially her eye sockets and under her chin, might get a tad darker and harder due to the sun.

Or leave the flash as is and 1/2 a stop less exposure?

As for sharpness, it looks okay to me, but I've read that most lenses have their best spot close to F8, so lowering ISO might have the side effect of improving sharpness if you adjust aperature to keep exposure time the same.

I don't know -should have experimented myself- what happens to fill flash if your exposure time drops far below flash synchronisation speed of the camera.

Again, these are just thoughts and I hope some experts chime in. And please accept my apologies if this is all utter nonsense.


She's a beautiful little girl, and it's a lovely portrait.

[LoveDSLR]

Originally Posted by Vagebond

I'm just learning digital photography myself, and like you I'd like to get the best possible photograph straight out of camera, with as little post processing as possible.

You forgot custom white balance.

[Vagebond]

Originally Posted by LoveDSLR

You forgot custom white balance.

Darn, one of the marks of the true not-yet-even-amateur, I always forget something