Backyard Portrait - Please Critique!

[JaxD]

Hi again.. I'm looking for critique on the composition and B&W conversion of this shot of my daughter, which I took late afternoon while she was playing with the dog in our backyard. I chose the vertical orientation to try and minimise the more distracting elements in the garden. Does it work? Does she keep your attention enough from the other elements like the fence and grass in the foreground? I've been trying to give my B&W conversions more 'pop'. How am I doing? CC greatly appreciated!



EXIF:
SS: 1/50
Ap: f/5.6
Focal length: 23mm
ISO: 400

[tyasa81]

did you edit the eyes? they look so highly sharpened/contrasted compared to the face... anyway that's the first thing i noticed... not the grass nor the fence

[JaxD]

Edit: Oops.. Thought I hadn't touched the eyes but then thought I'd better go back and check. I did do one click of dodging on them. Was even that too much? I'd hate them to look 'over-processed'..

[TBrown00]

I'm not an expert on B&W conversions since they aren't something I usually do, but I'd try increasing the contrast. Right now it seems more grayscale than B&W since there aren't any true blacks or whites in the conversion.

[tyasa81]

JaxD: i hope i didn't mislead you or something... it's just that i never get that kind of results from straight shooting... my personal opinion is that they look slightly off.. can't shake that feeling...

if you only did a dodge (at how many percent? i do sometimes dodge the eyes but usually with a 20-30% brush and adjust to taste), then maybe it's just the condition of the day that makes it so... anyway... you have to remember... this is the internet with lots of differing opinion... if you think it looks good, then so be it... shoot for yourself and your loved ones.. take my critique with more grain of salt since i'm learning as well... just an amateur with a nice camera who takes lots of snapshots of my kids, family and friends did i mention your daughter is very pretty? well she is!

i'll take my leave now and let the more experienced one give it a shot... sorry if i confused you...

[JaxD]

TBrown00: Thanks for your thoughts. I did do a levels and curves adjustment to lift the image from 'grayscale' but I appreciate you taking the time to reply.

tyasa81: No apologies necessary. Although I'm pretty new to photography, my goal is not to be someone who 'takes nice snaps of the kids' but someone who takes great photographs. I'm here to learn and I appreciate all critique. I had already saved and closed the image so I couldn't look back on history to see what percent I'd dodged at, but I hear what you say and I appreciate your opinion.. (Thanks for the compliment. I think she's really pretty too but then, I am her mother! )

Does anybody have opinions on the composition?

[Nori]

Very nice picture! I like it.. I will crop the overexposed sky and maybe edit the grass around her eye so we can focus more on her face and not the grass.

[Gina9942]

I think the eyes look okay, the harsh lighting from the flash bothers me. I like the comp, I might crop it at the top of the fence though to have the lines leading straight towards the subject,

[NgaiHill]

I like the composition but would crop out the sky above the fence, its a bit distracting and doesn't add anything to the picture.

[Bud-man]

Overall I like the shot. I do agree about the sky though. Being blown out takes away from the overall quality. If you can PP the sky, it would help. I think little more bokeh would help also. Maybe opening up 1/2 or 1 stop if possible. If you used a flash (did you?), perhaps a diffuser would decrease the apparent harshness on her face although its not really that bad.

These comments are all IMHO. Very Cute young lady, BTW!

Bud