Toddler Photography

[stjomi]

I just got my first DSLR and have been practicing almost daily with composition and camera settings. Its so hard to take photos of my son cause he is always on the move and I don't have time to think about settings or composition. I caught this one of him while he was laughing and thought it was pretty good. Getting the right lighting has been the hardest part for me thus far. Is the lighting and composition correct? Or should i have done something different?

Canon EOS REBEL T2i
Manual mode, f/5.6, 1/100 sec. ISO-400 w/ on camera flash

[windrider86]

Please take a peek at the guidelines and then return and edit your post with the missing info. Thanks a million!!!

[CShuler]

Not sure I really like the crop or angle of view, however, I like everything else about this photo.

Getting lighting just right on kids can be difficult because they are always moving about. While good lighting is a huge plus, I like to keep in mind that when photographing kids, really the most important thing is expression. And you got a good expression in this.

[stjomi]

Originally Posted by CShuler

Not sure I really like the crop or angle of view, however, I like everything else about this photo.

Getting lighting just right on kids can be difficult because they are always moving about. While good lighting is a huge plus, I like to keep in mind that when photographing kids, really the most important thing is expression. And you got a good expression in this.

Are you thinking not as tight of a crop? After i printed this photo i thought it was a little tight.

[ncbcymtechie]

Eh, it could be considered a little tight because his cheek is cut out instead of the top of his head. What stands out to me more is that his teeth are the focus of the picture. Not that they're the only things in focus, but since they're very white, they naturally draw my eyes to themselves. I love them and they're perfectly formed and very cute, but I think this issue could have been avoided had his eyes been open for something else to really look at inside the image instead of trying to process it as a whole.

In terms of what you were asking—lighting—it's very nice! Quite even and well exposed! I'd maybe burn the highlights on his cheeks, nose, and upper lip, but overall quite nice. Maybe next time you could bring the lighting down slightly so it lights the left side of his face more instead of spilling onto the sheets?

Very nice! I like it quite a bit and I hope you do too!