Leah-

[StephanieS]

I got my new camera today (Canon T1i) and I was playing around with my niece. I think this picture might be a little overexposed- but other than that I can't put my finger on what isn't right about it.

Any comments appreciated, but specifically about composition and lighting.



Exif data
Exposure- 1/125 sec
F-stop- 5.6
ISO- 1600
Focal Length- 55mm

No flash- natural light from window

[JFSanders]

Fair skinned child on a light background. Not overexposed. Don't like the clipping of her left arm. Looks like phantom hand over her head. Pretty much no shadows to speak of which will pancake a photograph. So the three dimensionality of it is gone to the viewer. Maybe that is what is bothering you.

Jim

[StephanieS]

Thank you Jim-

I think that is exactly the problem. I was just shooting her where she landed (we were just playing around the house) and wasn't focusing very much on background.

I just cropped her hand out of the photo- and I think it makes a bit of a difference- although I can't do much about the lack of shadows.

[carlyfan]

It also looks out of focus. That will definitely make the picture look off. The carpet looks sharper than her face. Aim to focus right on the eye. What is your focus technique? Are you letting the camera choose the focus point? I like the smile you capture though, and she is very cute.

Lisa

[JFSanders]

Did an adjustment in NX2. See if you like this better. Can't fix the softness in any way.

Jim

[StephanieS]

Lisa- I think I agree with you. I had it on AF at the time- although I tend to shy away from using that. I was just trying out new settings on the camera so I didn't want to think about focusing. I'm pretty sure the AF was set to the center of the image, which could definitely be the problem.

Jim- I do think I like that- especially if it was in better focus. I didn't think about playing with the shadows in PP. I have PSE8 and I usually enjoy that.

Thank you for all your CC!!

[kame_gt]

IMHO... I think it's a bit overexpose. Just a bit, you lost some detail on the dress, close to her armpit. It's all white there. Not enough to ruin the photo of course. And yeah, I also think it's slightly out of focus as the focus should have been in the eyes. A cute little girl tho.