my little girl on her 3rd birthday

[wings of a bluebird]

Just after she woke up - the blinds were still pulled and the light was bad so I used my speedlite (which I've only had a couple of weeks and am still getting used to).




Details are:
Canon EOS 550D & 430EXII Speedlite
1/125
f5.6
iso 200
focal length 51mm

Would appreciate your criticism as this as it is about my 2nd ever conversion to b&w and I'm still finding my footing with that. Also trying to work with cropping in different ways (there was a brown paper bag directly to her right which was kind of unsightly).

I suppose my main questions are does the conversion seem okay and what do you think of the crop (how could I have cropped it better?)

[commongrackle]

I don't think this is a bad photo, for the lighting situation you described. The focus might be a little soft...but I do think this photo lends itself to the BW conversion nicely.

As far as the question of cropping - do you have a link to the original? It would help in determining if you could have done something different when cropping.

[wings of a bluebird]

Thanks for the feedback.

I see your point about the soft focus - it's actually driving me a little nuts because the pics I'm taking look crystal clear in PS but I can't get them to upload to the net sharply, despite them being sharpened and saved for web in PS.

Here is a copy of the original, SOOC (neither sharpened nor saved for web, just as is)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/17859200@N03/5639223514/

eta : does it make a substantial difference to image quality when we're talking jpeg vs RAW ? Could that be causing my fuzzy issues?
I have not been taking pics on RAW very long, and can't seem to open them up in PS (I am a complete newbie to it!) so reverted back to taking them in jpeg.

[wings of a bluebird]

if anyone could give me some feedback on the conversion and the crop (the before is in my 2nd post) I'd be greatly appreciative.

I'm currently trying to work out why they are not sharp focus-wise despite being that way in Photoshop. Have asked what I'm doing wrong in that regard over in the pp section.

[Blabito]

good portrait ! She is very cute

[jenelletraderphotography]

I like it. It could be just a touch darker, but very good. I prefer the crop and the conversion to the original.

[timlaug]

IMO I would have left the top of her head in the crop.

[jax314]

Why is it that you think the focus may be a little soft? Your take on this may help others reading through this post.

I like the shot but agree with others about not chopping off her head.

[carlyfan]

I love it! She is super cute! Great catchlights, and I really like your crop. I don't mind the head chop at all. The B&W conversion looks pretty good too. Maybe it could use a little more contrast, but you don't want to lose the eyes either. Just one thing though, is the pink strip on the left side supposed to be there? I find it distracting. Maybe that's just me. Nice shot though!

Happy birthday to her!
Lisa

[wings of a bluebird]

Originally Posted by Blabito

good portrait ! She is very cute

Thanks

Originally Posted by jenelletraderphotography

I like it. It could be just a touch darker, but very good. I prefer the crop and the conversion to the original.

I was wondering about the darkness - but if I go much darker I seem to lose definition in her eyes.

Originally Posted by timlaug

IMO I would have left the top of her head in the crop.

I was going to do that but I thought it looked a little funny - maybe if I cropped it square it wouldn't be an issue?

Originally Posted by jax314

Why is it that you think the focus may be a little soft? Your take on this may help others reading through this post.

I like the shot but agree with others about not chopping off her head.

Re the focus : I am seeing it much, much crisper in Photoshop. It's unbelievably fuzzy in comparision once I upload to flikr. Since I'm not great with PS I am wondering if it's how I'm saving for web?

Originally Posted by carlyfan

I love it! She is super cute! Great catchlights, and I really like your crop. I don't mind the head chop at all. The B&W conversion looks pretty good too. Maybe it could use a little more contrast, but you don't want to lose the eyes either. Just one thing though, is the pink strip on the left side supposed to be there? I find it distracting. Maybe that's just me. Nice shot though!

Happy birthday to her!
Lisa

Thanks Lisa Re the pink strip - yeah it was a mistake - something to do with how I cropped in PS (I am not the best at PS - still working on it!!) LOL