Baby shots for TV, Urgent help needed

[S_Sanyal]

To begin with, I dont consider myself very good at this. but somehow my aunt and uncle are in love with the pictures I make of their infant daughter, who's nearly one now and an encyclopaedia of superarticulate expressions, which is why I enjoy shooting her.

Now here's the problem, I have been given the huge responsibility of producing pictures for a telecast of ONE Photograph they're planning on her first birthday, I didnt even now such a thing existed on our national channel, but apparently it does and they're excited about it to no end. I did a shoot at their home as they insisted they want the home context. I shortlisted a total of 8 shots which are on the link here on flickr.

Dana, nearly one now! - a set on Flickr

I am at a total loss as I cant compare them as the photographer himself ( I feel the toughest part of the photographer's job is to figure out which picture created is the best out of a set!!) In any case I'm posting the one I think has a story: as it has a picture of her from earlier, in the background (yes, the family framed it, they liked it so much ) so it shows her growing up in time.



Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 lense on Nikon D90
Exposure 0.033 sec (1/30)
Aperture f/1.8
Focal Length 50 mm
ISO Speed 200
Exposure Bias -1 EV

[Murtasma]

I'm sorry I'm not really understanding what your asking here. Are you asking what photograph we like the best?

If so my choice is easily this image.



The others don't even compare.

[BigFuzzy]

This one because it's the one with the sharpest eyes and clearest view of her whole face that also doesn't have part of her face blocked by hands.
Good luck!

This would be my 2nd choice


I don't really care for the one you posted because of the focus issues (it's simply out of focus) and it's too busy.. I think the point of this telecasting is a nice clear shot of the baby.

[BigFuzzy]

Originally Posted by Murtasma

I'm sorry I'm not really understanding what your asking here. Are you asking what photograph we like the best?

If so my choice is easily this image.



The others don't even compare.

I'd have agreed Murtasma had it not been for the use of the central focal point which caused focus to be on nose and not eyes.

[S_Sanyal]

Thanks Murtasma and Al for your feedback.

Murtasma, you have correctly identified my dilemma, i am having a choice problem. And Al's focus observation is spot on, sharper nose than eyes. a clear risk shooting the quickly moving baby wide open . As you may have noticed, even one of the eyes is sharper (camera right) than the other.

Al, I second your views on the focus issues in my OP and on more thought, I think yes, the telecast would be significantly better with a clean sharp picture.

I think it would be a good idea to give them these three (or maybe five?)to decide which one they would like to see best on TV. Thanks again for the critiques, they were very helpful indeed. I'll wait on some more views before I make a final call on the shortlist.

[Niresangwa]

I agree with Murtasma, that's the one I was drawn to. The others look more like snapshots.

That's not to discount what Al said, however in this case the strength of this image exceeds the technical issue - especially when you consider the medium this will be viewed in, ie a tv for a few seconds...

[S_Sanyal]

Niresangwa, good point. are you implying punch is needed more than sharpness?

[Niresangwa]

Originally Posted by S_Sanyal

Niresangwa, good point. are you implying punch is needed more than sharpness?

In this instance, yes I am.

If every single viewer would be watching on a 56" 1080p 120Hz HD television and seeing it for 60 seconds, and they're photographers who can discern where the main focal point lies thats one thing...

...in this case however, its probably a small technical issue that photographers ith a trained eye such as Al can see quickly, but the general viewer on a normal tv probably won't even notice.

This image has undeniable value aesthetically however... its cute, and it's funny and looks completely different from all of the others, in a good way.

[S_Sanyal]

Thanks niresangwa. Your argument is very compelling. I'm inclined to agree.

[klam]

Originally Posted by Niresangwa

I agree with Murtasma, that's the one I was drawn to. The others look more like snapshots.

That's not to discount what Al said, however in this case the strength of this image exceeds the technical issue - especially when you consider the medium this will be viewed in, ie a tv for a few seconds...

I agree. Sometimes the best images are out of focus, blurry, underexposed, bad composition, etc. And sometimes technically sound images are not interesting, etc.

This image here is good because of her expression.