Riley

[In The Moment]

Hey everybody...hope you're all doing well! It's been a long time since I've been to this site and unfortunately I didn't pick up my camera during that time as much as I would've liked.

Anyway, this is a picture of my nephew, Riley. My questions: How do you feel about the top of his head being cut out of the picture? I noticed that I seem to enjoy taking close shots but because of that I tend to cut off body parts. Just wanting to know if this takes away from the picture. Also, what do you think of the way he's positioned in the frame. I know the general rule is to use the rule of thirds, but what about when it's a close up?

Thanks for taking the time to look and feel free to comment on any other aspects of the picture as well. Advice is always welcomed. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Camera Model: Nikon D5000
F-stop: f/7.1
Exposure Time: 1/200 sec.
ISO speed: 200
Focal Length: 45mm
Flash Mode: No flash

[NgaiHill]

I think he looks great, love the catchlights in his eyes. I think that as it is it kinda looks like you cut the top off his head accidentally whereas I think if you cropped a bit more off the top and the right it would balance better and look more deliberate.
I don't have a problem with tops of heads being cut off in a close up portrait but if its only a small part of the head it looks like a mistake as opposed to deliberate composition.

[deck]

Originally Posted by NgaiHill

I think he looks great, love the catchlights in his eyes. I think that as it is it kinda looks like you cut the top off his head accidentally whereas I think if you cropped a bit more off the top and the right it would balance better and look more deliberate.
I don't have a problem with tops of heads being cut off in a close up portrait but if its only a small part of the head it looks like a mistake as opposed to deliberate composition.

+1

Cut lower
Center position works sometimes and this one works, to improve this do use a wider aperture (5.6 or lower) or a longer focal length (55mm or higher) to blur the background more.