Newcomer to photography - looking for constructive critique!

[jesullivan]

This is one of my first portraits, taken on a recent trip to Guatemala. I am very happy with the portrait; however, I don't like that the right side of her blouse is a bit blurred into the background. I used a single-point AF focus on her face, but that left part of her shirt a bit blurry (at least to my eye). Constructive criticism on how to improve this photo would be greatly appreciated as I am new to the world of photography! The photo has not been edited; however, any suggestions on possible adjustments would be appreciated.



Camera: Canon 60D, shot with a 50mm lens.
I already deleted the photo from my camera, so I don't have the exact settings used; however, I believe I used an aperture of somewhere in the range of f/1.8-2.4. At any rate, I am more concerned with lighting and composition critiques.

[ChrisAdval]

Originally Posted by jesullivan

This is one of my first portraits, taken on a recent trip to Guatemala. I am very happy with the portrait; however, I don't like that the right side of her blouse is a bit blurred into the background. I used a single-point AF focus on her face, but that left part of her shirt a bit blurry (at least to my eye). Constructive criticism on how to improve this photo would be greatly appreciated as I am new to the world of photography! The photo has not been edited; however, any suggestions on possible adjustments would be appreciated.



Camera: Canon 60D, shot with a 50mm lens.
I already deleted the photo from my camera, so I don't have the exact settings used; however, I believe I used an aperture of somewhere in the range of f/1.8-2.4. At any rate, I am more concerned with lighting and composition critiques.

I love the colors and post processing, only thing that bothered me was the clipping on the hands and the photo could have been improved if the background was a bit more blown out.

Do you have any EXIF data information?
You can find this information either in Lightroom if you have that or if you upload it to Flickr that should show us the EXIF information.

After reading your post, I noticed you mentioned you didn't edit the photo and to me thats really hard to believe because it looks like the contrast levels was raised from the original levels unless the camera did that with certain filters on the lens itself or in camera software filters.

[jesullivan]

Thanks for the reply! I agree about the hands. Unfortunately that was the only shot I took and I didn't notice the clipping on the hands until later. Currently using a slow internet connection, but will check upload to flickr and check EXIF data asap.

I increased the contrast levels on the camera itself before taking the shot. Do you think the contrast is too high? Would the shot be better if I decreased the levels in photoshop?

Thanks!

[Infinite Monkey]

Overall I think you've got a lovely shot here. The colors are a bit saturated but I can live with that. I would, however, try a little sharpening. You've got that great smile on her face but I think you could bring some more out of it, along with sharpening the patterns in her huipil. A bit less depth of field to separate the foreground from the background would be nice, too. But you've got a nice shot here and a great start to enjoying photography.

[shocellist]

I like the difference in color between your subject and the background. I think the fact that the background is rather unsaturated brings out your subject even more.
I'm seeing a little bit of camera shake here; maybe a bit of post-processing sharpening could help (of course, going overboard anything can make your photo look worse).

I personally love using really wide apertures for portraits like this. However, you noted some concern with parts of her blouse blurring into the background. I'm thinking that once you reduce camera shake (higher ISO or wider aperture for faster exposure), those blurred parts won't be an issue anymore, even when using f/1.8-2.4.

I would suggest playing around with the exposure and levels in whatever editor you have, to see what you like. Don't forget to always have a copy of the original!

[jesullivan]

Thanks for the replies! Very helpful!

[jesullivan]

As soon as I get back to my desktop computer I'll play around with the image in photoshop and post my results

[BigFuzzy]

To be as constructive and honest as possible I have to say that the complete lack of focus kills the image for me. There are so many great details here in the face and clothes in general that to have this image blurry (either from slow shutter speed or camera shake.. or both) simply ruins it for me.

Most would argue that any portrait (whether in studio or on the street/touristing) needs to have at least the eyes in focus.

That's why exif is so important because we'd be able to tell whether the blurryness is due to shutter speed or poor camera technique.

Again, I'm a stickler for focus, so once I saw the whole image is out of focus I simply didn't pay attention to the rest as, again for me, it's a "delete and learn from it" image. Obviously that doesn't mean it's not great for your trip album, but in terms of putting it out there as something for the rest of the world to see, it falls flat.

[mpaulison]

I say just a little sharpening ( a LITTLE) especially in her face which is the star of the shot. This is really a great shot. If the colors were muted, it wouldn't look like it was taken in Guatemala. Nice shot.