Flower Boy

[ValGal]

I've just recently started taking photography more seriously. I'd love some feedback on how to improve my photographs. Thx!

[John Hendry]

Hi nice image, but think about the whole image the white sky in the background is a distraction

All the best

[windrider86]

To get the most out of the critique section, we have posted (at the top of every page) the sections rules/guidelines. They contain information that should be included that will help others know more about your photo. By knowing more, they can help you more.
Please read thru them and edit your post accordingly. Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!

[SusanH1970]

I've copied and pasted your EXIF for you from Flickr:

Exposure 0.01 sec (1/100)
Aperture f/5.0
Focal Length 38 mm
ISO Speed 100
Exposure Bias 0 EV
Flash No Flash

Exposure: He's a bit underexposed, while the sky is blown out. I'd also like to see some light in his eyes. A reflector will help with the underexposure/catchlights issue.

Composition: He's dead center in the photograph. I would have moved more to the left, framing him with the greenery along the path and putting him more in the rule of thirds, or I might have shot in portrait orientation rather than landscape, putting his eyes in the top third of the frame.

Post processing: The BW conversion is a bit muddy. I'd love to see a color version. How did you convert?

It's a cute photo. I'm a sucker for serious little faces.

[shauncunninghamphoto]

Nice shot. I agree with Susan's critique too. The sky is truly distracting but I like working with those sort of challenges. A reflector disc would've used the natural light from the sky to provide some fill flash to his face. Using a disc is such an inexpensive and simple yet very powerful way of giving your shots some pop.

The dead center composition is not just a general rule "no no" it distracts from the focal point of your photo, which is the boy's face and flower. I'm sure that's what you were trying to really capture. While rules can be broken in the name of creativity and personal style, we all need to consider their value before breaking them. Here's another general rule you should consider: Get close to your subject and then when you think you are close enough, get closer still.

Getting closer to him, you would have also benefited from a wider aperture for more background blur bringing more attention to your subject's face.

What I really do like is that you took the photo from his eye level, which put you in his world.

It was a challenge to make modification with a small jpg but rather than explain how I would've changed the shot, I am adding an adjusted version below. I hope you don't mind, I hope you like the new composition and I hope it helps.

In Lightroom, I re-cropped, adjusted the B&W tint slightly, adjusted clarity, added some fill light, slightly sharpened the image and incresaed the noise reduction. In PP10, I made some small adjustment to his eyes.

[3bayjunkie]

yeah your exposure is a bit dark and your background is somewhat distracting but nice emotional capture.

[MeAgain]

I really like the shot but I'm going to join the chorus of those saying loose the bright sky and crop in tighter.

Awesome, thanks for sharing.

[Johninbigd]

I kind of like the original exposure, but I've been going through a darker exposure kick the past few days. I think backing away from the subject and to the right about foot and then zooming in further would have taken away some of the sky and further blurred out the background. If you have a telephoto lens, don't be afraid to back way up and then zoom in. It looks great. It really creates a nice separation if your subject is far enough away from the background.

Nice photo!

[SusanH1970]

Originally Posted by Johninbigd

I kind of like the original exposure, but I've been going through a darker exposure kick the past few days.

Out of curiosity, are you viewing this on an un-calibrated LCD screen?

[Johninbigd]

Originally Posted by SusanH1970

Out of curiosity, are you viewing this on an un-calibrated LCD screen?

My monitor is not calibrated. I have visited some online tools to help set the brightness, but I suspect those aren't very reliable. I have not gone through an actual calibration, so it's entirely likely that my monitor is too bright.