RE: Newbie needs help

[neoHUNTER]

Hello and thank you in advance for any advices you will give me. I am new to this portrait photography. I need a feedback on my first trial to my son. In this photo, 1.) I would like to ask if my exposure is correct. 2.) Did I do the correct cropping? so tight? 3.) Any problem with composition? or anything you can pick up or criticize on this photo will be taken aboard...

EXIF DATA:

iso-100
aperture-f/5.0
shutter speed-1/80
flash-did fire
auto white balance
manual setting
canon eos 10d
27/04/10

[Life in Motion]

hello...can you post the original. the post work looks odd to me. i would like to see what the original image looked like to give some tips maybe on how to acheive to make it look a little better black and white...

[SusanH1970]

Originally Posted by Life in Motion

hello...can you post the original. the post work looks odd to me. i would like to see what the original image looked like to give some tips maybe on how to acheive to make it look a little better black and white...

Agreed, I'd love to see a SOOC as well, if you don't mind posting.

[neoHUNTER]

hello thank you for your replies...here is the original by the way...

orig.jpg

[drr0b]

I certainly prefer the image in colour; I don't think that the range from dark to light is wide enough to have a representative black and white, since the only light points are the catchlights in his eyes. I think that increasing the exposure would give a more pleasing tonal range.

I like the side to side cropping, but chopping off the top and bottom of the face looks a bit weird to me (just personal preference).

It definitely has potential though

[SusanH1970]

He's really cute and I love the expression you caught!

The original does look a touch underexposed, even with the flash. Try not to use the onboard flash - the light it gives off is very harsh and flat, and you get the pinpoint lights in the eyes. Natural light (whether from outside or from a window) is much more flattering. If you must use the popup flash, there are loads of DIY ways to diffuse it so it's not quite as harsh.

Looks like the focus fell on his nose - it's quite sharp, whereas his eyes are OOF. The crop is a little too tight and centered for my taste.

Keep shooting and posting!

[neoHUNTER]

I cant say enough but to thank you for all your tips...I will put all your suggestions onboard...Yah my focus i think is mostly at his nose...I will try my best to his eyes, i tried my best to work on it...I agree with cropping is tight on the top and bottom, next time il also include part of his shoulder and put few inches above the head...With the exposure, maybe i will use the light from the window or get an external flash...Cheers.