B&W conversion ok?

[yulchick]

I took this shot of my daughter on the swings the other day, but the sky got really over exposed, and I think turning the shot into B&W was the only way to make it better... I should of placed her the other way on the swings, as the sun was behind her right where the sky is over exposed...

Is my B&W conversion ok?
Any other cretique is welcome!
If you want to see the color version, its on my flickr.



ISO 100
50 mm
f/7.1
1/100 sec

[smitheyes]

I like it, had a look at the colour shot and B&W definately saved the shot IMO. will keep this in mind for future blow outs of my own.

[yulchick]

Thank you

[jentenna]

Oh my, what a cutie. I love the moment you captured here... swinging on her belly... the expression on her face and the over-sized sunglasses. Adorable. And I do think the photo is served well by a B&W conversion. I just have two thoughts:

1. I think the conversion needs more contrast. There are no real blacks, and the only bright white bits are in the blown out sky.

2. That bright portion of the sky on the right is somewhat distracting. Maybe cropping it out would help? But I definitely wouldn't crop so much that you have to chop into the adorable pom pom on her hat.

Also, for the blown out sky -- did you shoot in RAW? I've been surprised how much I'm able to recover with the (aptly titled) "Recovery" slider in Camera RAW (or Lightroom or iPhoto). Might be worth a shot.

[yulchick]

Originally Posted by jentenna

Oh my, what a cutie. I love the moment you captured here... swinging on her belly... the expression on her face and the over-sized sunglasses. Adorable. And I do think the photo is served well by a B&W conversion. I just have two thoughts:

1. I think the conversion needs more contrast. There are no real blacks, and the only bright white bits are in the blown out sky.

2. That bright portion of the sky on the right is somewhat distracting. Maybe cropping it out would help? But I definitely wouldn't crop so much that you have to chop into the adorable pom pom on her hat.

Also, for the blown out sky -- did you shoot in RAW? I've been surprised how much I'm able to recover with the (aptly titled) "Recovery" slider in Camera RAW (or Lightroom or iPhoto). Might be worth a shot.

Thank you for your comments

I did shoot RAW. I have Lightroom, I tried the recovery slider after you mentioned and it didnt do much, the branches in the over exposed skyes became just a lil clearer, I guess its over exposed pretty badly to be recovered...but thanks for the suggestion, I never really used that option, and now I know I'll play around with the photo more, to get more of what you mentioned in your first suggestion

[NicoleScraps]

Oh my gosh, this is so cute, color or black and white. I would have to agree though that you might need a little more contrast in the B&W version, but otherwise, it looks great!

[dannyrich]

Originally Posted by yulchick

Thank you for your comments

I did shoot RAW. I have Lightroom, I tried the recovery slider after you mentioned and it didnt do much, the branches in the over exposed skyes became just a lil clearer, I guess its over exposed pretty badly to be recovered...but thanks for the suggestion, I never really used that option, and now I know I'll play around with the photo more, to get more of what you mentioned in your first suggestion

I love this shot, im glad you didnt turn her round!

If you have lightroom increase the blacks slider by between 5 and 10 and rack up the contrast, you could also nudge the clarity to the right to define. Would make a very funky portrait!

That said, as a photo memory of your own child sometimes plain and uncomplicated works best.

Excellent shot, shots like these are hard to capture.

[yulchick]

Thank you guys : )

So I played around with both B&W and colored versions of the photo, and I like the newly edited ones way better.

Here is what I got for the black and white. Does it look better now, to you guys?

[jentenna]

I, for one, love the new edit! Definitely a great shot.

[yulchick]

Originally Posted by jentenna

I, for one, love the new edit! Definitely a great shot.

Thank you