boy boogey boarding in FL

[Cathrine]

I took this picture of my son last month and I am trying to analyze it. I am new and when I look at this picture, in my head I think it looks good. But when I see other critiques, I realize that there are probably some issues with my picture that could be made to make it better. My eye as a photographer needs to be trained!

Can you tell me how I should analyze this picture to determine if this picture is good?

No Flash fired
Focal Length 50 mm
Exposure Time 1/250s
Aperture f/6.3
ISO 100
Exposure Bias 0.00
White Balance Auto

Thank you!

[naeno]

It looks like he was having a ton of fun! Great day for boogey boarding!

Generally, in portraiture the main focus should be a person's eyes. Due to the angle of your camera and your son's head, his eyes are very obscured by his bangs. I would recommend that next time you try to get just a bit lower since it would have been an uncomfortable position for your son to look higher. (I know you were awfully close to that salt water with your camera, and that's a scary proposition!) His face is a bit shadowed. If you had used just a bit of flash for fill light, it would have lightened up a bit. I would also recommend a crop. The water is beautiful, but your son should be the focus. I recommend cropping it vertically and putting your son's head on the the thirds line. I can show you a quick example of what I'm talking about, if you'd like.

This is a fun capture. Keep enjoying the waves, water, and camera!!

[SusanH1970]

Agreed with Naeno, but I'd also like to add that his skin tones are very pink/cool and he's got a blue color cast from the boogeyboard. But I can totally see why you love this - if it were a photo of my kid, I would too.

[GadgetRick]

Yes, WB is a bit off and the image is flat (needs more contrast).

One of the most important thing I learned when I started out was about getting down on the level of your subject (most of the time anyway). It really changes the photo when you're at the same level. You can see the eyes. The subject--if they are looking at the camera--is looking naturally instead of looking up. I can't tell you how often I get dirty rolling around on the ground shooting things. Here's me shooting some flowers a few weeks ago...



You'll find me on my knee or laid out prone like this quite often while shooting. You'd be surprised at what you can get from down there.

[SusanH1970]

Good illustration, Rick - being a child photographer, I'm in that position quite often!

[Cathrine]

Thank you...

Naeno--would you mind showing me an example? I would very much appreciate it!
Susan--can the skin tone be fix through the camera or through post processing?
Rick--love the illustration! I definitely will think of you when I'm photographing children. )
I definitely see where if I was more eye level with my son, I would get a better picture.

Thank you again.

[naeno]

Here's what I was suggesting. It's actually going to be rather difficult to fix the WB issues because his cheeks actually are red from playing outside and you get a blue reflection cast from the board. However, this is such a fun shot if it was my child, I wouldn't worry about it! Just love the picture and enjoy the memory!

[IMG]http://wellerimagespe******t.com/Critique/Blank_files/IMG_0897%20%281%29.jpg[/IMG]