Summer Shoot

[RossDoughty]

Hey everyone, I am wanting to learn more about portraiture and I was wondering if you all would tell me what you think. I thout for one to shoot close to not distract the viewer from the subject. Also I thought it a good idea to shoot at 3.5f because that would blur out the background therefore enhancing the subject too. Am I right? All critique welcomed .

EXIF Data:

Camera: Nikon D60
Lens: 18-200 AF VRII 72mm
Mode: Arpature Mode
Focal Length: 200mm
Shutter Speed: 1/60
F-Stop: 3.5
Flash: None

Post-Processing:

PS CS5 - High Pass Filter to sharpen a little.

[Kate Howells]

Hi Ross

I like the vibrant colours in this image. You have handled the exposure well, and your subject is sharp. The BG is also sufficiently OOF to make your subject stand out.
I am not crazy about the composition, your subject is very central, and there is too much space above her head. My suggestion would be to crop the image to exclude some of the dead space on the right hand side of the image.
For this shot, I would probably have gone for a portrait orientation.
Remember general rule of thumb : your shutter speed should be at least 1 and a half times your focal length. So if you are focussing at 200mm, your shutter speed should be a minimum of 1/300.
Hope this helps

[PeterArboinePhotography]

what a cute smile! for portraiture, i generally like to create a little edge/uniqueness to the shot. Change your angles a little, you'll be surprised how a change of angle can make a seemingly candid shot appear more interesting. That said, the depth of field is great, and I love the vivid colours!

[mschaning]

I also agree with the change of angle. To me, the shadow of the nose ring onto her upper lip is distracting. So a slight change of angle would have helped with the shadow direction. Overall though, this is a great shot.