Bright Eyes welcomes the critique

[evphoto]

Was wondering what you all thought of the pose and the composition of this photo.

There is just something about this photo that doesn't set right with me and I can't figure it out.

Thanks!



EXIF
Camera: D60
Exposure:1/125
Aperture: f/5.3
Focal: 35mm
ISO: 1600

[BigFuzzy]

To me, it feels off because it feels forced, unnatural. Mostly because of the pose. Kids, to me at least, look 'off' when trying to pose.
Other than that, I find little to say about the image as it's fine. focus is good. good use of DoF. Love the background. Colors and lighting seem nice... so, to me, in the end, it's just an issue of it not feeling natural.

[evphoto]

thanks... whats funny is that it isn't posed and she just kept doing it so i finally just took a photo of it. i like it but still just seems off thanks for the feed back

[cherrygirl]

I agree something is a little off but I don't think it is too bad... It is a little underexposed and the white balance is off a tad too.

It may not be one you frame for the wall but I think it is one to put in the scrapbook!

[bikingbadger]

The photo is well composed but I think its the smile. It doesn't look like a spur of the moment typ eof smile or at least when the photo was taken it caught her exactly between the smile.

[evphoto]

just saw you had replied... thanks for that by the way you are so right the smile does look like an inbetween smile... maybe thats what I felt was wrong.. THANKS!

[ncbcymtechie]

I don't do much portraiture of kids—heck, I don't do much portraiture in general. I do spend a good deal of time shooting children spontaneously, and I think it produces the best results. They often capture a humorous pose or a cutely poignant moment. I would agree with the others when they say that it's hard to get kids to pose well, which is why I don't do it unless I have to. I personally focus quite a bit on the face, sometimes to the point where it fills the shot. In this case, that's not very helpful since she's doing something with her arms. (It's a cute pose, by the way!) I would, however, love to see the camera a bit higher so that it looks down on the girl and gets more of her eyes and forehead; I wonder if that would make any difference in the feeling. The smile suggestion by others would help, too.

Regardless, I think it's a technically astute picture and well-executed. I concur—one to put in the scrapbook to cherish.

[LeeR]

You are on the right track. A professional in your situation sets up the lighting and camera to get a technically competent image and then concentrates on capturing that magic expression that makes for a stunning image. This is pretty good, but we have all seen so many images of children that we know that much more is possible. Henri Cartier-Bresson used to talk about capturing "the decisive moment," that moment in time when evertyhing comes together in a magical way. And that's exactly what is missing from this image: magic.