Sweet 16ish

[sallie]

I am having a hard time figuring out my focus points. Taking a look at the photo, can you tell where my focus point was? I'm not able to see it in ViewNX. How do you like the composition? I want to offer to take photos of friends children but not sure I'm ready.


Nikon D90 f /4.8, 1/200 sec, ISO/400, focal lenth 56mm

[BigFuzzy]

maybe it's me and others will say it works, but the image won't open up for me larger.
Maybe try uploading it to flickr and then linking it here? The upload tool here is picky...

[carlyfan]

That's odd. Yesterday I tried to view it and couldn't, but today it worked for me. Anyway, I think the focus looks pretty good on her eyes, but I'm probably not the best one to ask about that; I could be wrong. The first thing I noticed though was the harsh lighting on her face. If you had turned her away from the sun so that it was not falling on her face, you probably could have gotten some nice rim lighting on her hair, and gotten rid of the hot spots on her face. Also, I find the background a little distracting. It's a nice shot though.

Lisa

[sallie]

Obviously I am not ready to shoot any friends children! I don't even know what hot spots are and they were not covered in my Intro to Digital class. I don't want to be pro or anything. Just want to be able to take a good picture for people. How do I fix hot spots and what exactly are they? I appreciate the help.

[carlyfan]

I'm sorry. I never know if I should explain terms or not. Hot spots are basically just overexposed areas. (so bright there is no detail) So because there was direct sun hitting her nose, cheek, and neck, those areas were much brighter than the rest of her face. (The attachment is not working for me again, so I'm going by memory here) The rest of her face was properly exposed, and thus the brighter spots were overexposed. By turning her away from the sun, you could prevent the sun from hitting parts of her face directly. Then her face would be evenly lit and you could make a proper exposure for her whole face without the brighter spots messing everything up. It is a nice picture though; I like it.

As far as photographing your friends' children, don't let that stop you. Go for it! Practice as much as you can with as many people as you can! As long as they are good friends they will understand that you are not a pro and are not going to be expecting professional shots.

I hope this helps.
Good luck and keep shooting!
Lisa

[sallie]

When you say shoot her away from the sun, do you mean sun behind her and me shooting facing the sun? I'm going to try that next time.

[carlyfan]

Yes, that's exactly what I mean. Also, a reflector would be helpful to bounce more light into her face, making it easier to get a proper exposure. I just use a large, white foam board as a reflector. It doesn't look professional, but it works and they are only about $3.

[TheEagleSpirit]

Originally Posted by sallie

I am having a hard time figuring out my focus points. Taking a look at the photo, can you tell where my focus point was? I'm not able to see it in ViewNX. How do you like the composition? I want to offer to take photos of friends children but not sure I'm ready.


Nikon D90 f /4.8, 1/200 sec, ISO/400, focal lenth 56mm

Wow. to only be 16 again.

Not sure where your focus points are either.
When I do portraits I use center focusing and focus on the eyes. Focus on the eyes and recompose while holding the shutter button half way to hold the focus.