beach girl!

[MrJones]

Hey guys, I just love this photo and wanted to know if it touches anyone else or is it just me.
any other critique is always welcome as I'm here to learn.




EXIF:

Canon EF70-200mm f/4 IS USM @ 106mm
f/5.0
ISO 100
1/200
no flash

[swilliams61]

Sweet photo; you seem to have captured her innocence! The photo doesn't really "pop" though; seems like it's all a pale shade of pink.

[MrJones]

thanks, any ideas how can I fix it?
do you think it's the background or just boosting up the saturation and a bit of contrast will do the trick?

[SuperDan]

i actually like the tones of the pic... it actually helps with the overall feel for this pic as its supposed to be a summer beach pic..

although, i would push up the levels a bit

[rubysue]

I really enjoy the soft muted look of the colors. I like this a lot.

[kristenh]

i think it's sweet- really like the way her hair is lit on the left.

is she usually a thoughtful/introspective kind of girl?

[MrJones]

Originally Posted by kristenh

i think it's sweet- really like the way her hair is lit on the left.

is she usually a thoughtful/introspective kind of girl?

yes she is and she's a very cute girl who happens to be my cousin's fist daughter

I tried and work a little on the photo in PP, this is how it turned out.. is it better or does it feel too saturated?

[BigFuzzy]

I find very little wrong with this image and like the 1st version better than the 2nd.
All i would do to the first one is boost the contrast juuuust a bit, not as much as the 2nd version. If you use LR (and if you don't you should! ) use the "clarity" slider as it'll boost the constrast a bit without getting rid of that lovely soft hue/feel to the 1st version.

I remember a couple of your other photos (of young boys I believe) that had this nice soft color hue, which I think you do very well and it works well with children (or young ladies like above).

This may be a case where you may want to start delving a little into layers and selective adjustments of your images because I think a boost in contrast could help in certain areas of this image (like the detail areas of her face) but not applied overall or to the general tone of her skin/hair.

One small criticism, it seems the focus is on her lips and not her eyes. Not a big deal, but I did notice. Then again, I'm picky and most others might not care at all.

In the end, it's quite a nice image that needs very little work (in my opinion). Just a bit of selective contrast boosting would make it pop a bit. Do either the "Clarity" setting in LR or use LCE in PS (see here for what LCE is. I use it or Clarity in almost every single shot of mine)

[MrJones]

thanks BigFuzzy...
I'm using photoshop CS5 and learning the layers as I go.
I'll try adding the contrast to selected areas without affecting the "feel" of the photo.
as for the focus, I didn't even notice but after checking again on a larger scale, as always - you are right
thanks again!

[wal]

Honestly i like the first version, much better. The tones and colors are great.. The bokeh, looks real nice. The pic made her looks good and nice.