Candid portrait of my niece

[npande01]

I was taking pictures of my niece's birthday and lucked out with this shot (I think so, anyway). I think it's maybe a bit soft on the focus, though I recently learned how to set a single focus point on the camera. I'm pretty happy with it. To do it again, I might have used fill flash to bring out her eyes some. Any other suggestions?



EXIF:
Lens: NIKON 70-300 f4-5.6
Camera: NIKON D90
ISO: 400
Exposure: 1/125 sec
Aperture: 13.0
Focal Length: 170mm
Flash Used: No

[LoWhen Photography]

One thing I know helps is keeping in mind certain shadow compositions on peoples faces.

Look up:
Loop Lighting
Butterfly Lighting

Those are some basic lighting compositions and they add a LOT to a photograph.

[jpitz31]

Nice start, The background is slightly under exposed, which is good, removes any distraction from the background. Try to remove unwanted objects from the background, like the person standing behind your subject.

Yes, you need to try to establish a nice fall off in the shadow on the face. Before you try fill flash, get your self a piece of white foam core and use it on the left side of the face as a fill reflector. By doing so you will even out the shadow and lighten up the face. When you master this technique and understand a bit more on lighting ratios then you should start working with fill flash.



Thanks

Joe