how to smile

[hikerobby]

Hi, this image and the one i just posted for the wide angle challenge are my first posts here... very excited to get feedback on how i can improve this image.
Taken in india (banares) on a walk with my camera, playing with these kids who were very very excited about my camera, and the girl who was playing along, but a lil more timid about the weird white guy. Taken with my d40 and my permanent 35mm 1.8 lens
F/2.8
1/125
400iso
no post processing, I dont have any software, but I'd like to know what I could have done better lighting wise and compositionally, and anything else. And also what I could do post processing to improve the image cuz its one of my all time favorites:-)

I do know the central boy is out of focus, but the spilling water is crisp and the super smily boy is crisp too, I like it that way.
thanks everyone!!

[DelCan]

I like it. Their smiles made me smile.

[hikerobby]

[Photologyst]

That is a wonderful image!

I pulled the photo into Lightroom and adjusted the exposure down the workflow. Added fill light too. Increased vibrance and saturation as well because India is a land of vibrant colors. Traditional S tone curve. Added a small vignette.

Then to Photoshop to work on the eyes, which to me are the most important here. Painted in brighter reflections, then sharpened via Lab Color Mode method.




You can do the same things with GIMP, free PS software: GIMP - The GNU Image Manipulation Program

Congrats! That is a keeper.

[hikerobby]

wow thats amazing! I'm feeling good about composition, currently on exposure/shutter/iso camera know-how..... but that makes me want to learn about postprossesing! Good work it looks incredible!

[Photologyst]

Originally Posted by hikerobby

wow thats amazing! I'm feeling good about composition, currently on exposure/shutter/iso camera know-how..... but that makes me want to learn about postprossesing! Good work it looks incredible!

Glad that you like it.


There are few, if any great photographers past or present, who don't use PS processing. For film it was the chemical darkroom, now it's the digital lightroom.

I left the children’s faces as “rough” as they are. However, I would probably soften them just a bit if this were my photo.




BTW, Lightroom, Aperture, Photoshop, GIMP, Elements, etc. are all great programs.

Do try them out. Many allow you a 30 day free trial. GIMP is free.

[deck]

Hikerobby,
I like the photo, the frame is rightly composed with subjects in the right place, no space wasted, the emotions are there, I guess I can say that I feel their excitement in seeing you.

there's not much you can do with the lighting, nothing much to comment, expect probably to catch the moment when they are all looking in the camera, but then again you'd miss the water splash...

nice photo