What’s Your Preference?

fdangelo · #1 (**permalink**) 09-12-2011, 11:58 PM

Would love to hear some recommendation on how to make this a better shot next time.

f/2.8
1/60
ISO 400
Canon T2i
No flash used

Much appreciated.

ccting · #2 (**permalink**) 09-13-2011, 12:49 AM

I am a newbie of photography, and here is my comment as a newbie:

Overall: Very nice at first glance...

Focus: Well, it looks like the eyes are not sharp enough. Try adobe lightroom to sharpen her eyes, lips..increase DOF a bit? Try focus at both eyes, and if you find that your len is rotating (at least my VR kit len 18-55mm Nikon len), reduce the aperture a bit. Assume your child is not moving.. (that is almost impossible...)

Face: Got "bump" on her face, remove it using photoshop?

Noise: Color noise seen at background. remove them using lightroom otherwise open all your windows and let more light come into the room?

Tone: Let me see if you convert the pic into grey color pic.. then we compare the tone of background and subject. If the intensity is about the same, consider to darken the background a bit using light room. The tone & color for right eyebow is almost same with the skin. I believe if your focus is her eye + eyebow, then at least tone needs to be different with some head and angle adjustment to right.

Color: Try to find violet / purple background and repost the pic, see the difference

Lines: Nice diagnonal line from hair to body to right bottom from upper left edge. Well, she is looking down to left bottom... is that a issue? Negative space on the left bottom sufficient? Let put something very near on the left and put a full stop of the eye line? put Bokeh (see my comment below). What I think is, if you can't show what she is looking, it is better if she can look at the camera.. at least,what I think, the Pic is not leading us away from the pic. The diagnonal line of her head lead us to her, but quickly enough, her eyes like me away from the pic.. unless you could put a "stop" of what she is seeing.

I don't know,, need some comment of others,, just remind you, I am very new to photography and I bought my first camera end of June 2011.

Frame: Crop a bit at the top (cut a bit of her hair) and see how it looks like? Well looks great the bottom edge stop before angle..

Background: Hmm, gaussian blur background??? put a small LED at far behind so that it falls on left bottom. Adjust the distance to gain the best Bokeh... hhehhee.. exactly where your daughter is looking... .

Just below the eye: Using some reflector so to reduce the shallow just below the eyes

White balance & Exposure: Use grey card (108,108,108 using mspaint) - WB PRESET, then lock the exposure using the same card / lips.

Shoulders. Adjust your angle a bit so both shoulders can be seen? One hand / shoulder is missing...

light: Turn your daughter a bit to the right so that a bit light fall on face. I think light has connection to faster shutter speed that improves the sharpness particular both eyes and eyebow, so the lighting at the back of head could be sacrified for more light at the eyes. Adjust so that both eyes reflect some light by putting 1 source of lighting 45 degree from the camera (on floor)? Side lit the left eye bows.makes it appear to be better. Try turn the head to left a bit till it is side litted..and you need to move left closer to her as well...

Sharpness: I think you need to emphasis her eyebow, beautiful,,, sharpen using lightroom if can't get it using in-camera.

f/2.8==> F3.0 or higher?
1/60 ==> 1/(your focal length +10) or 1/90 or 1/125??
ISO 400 ==> 400 or higher? Correct the noise using software.
Using tripod? Delayed exposure shutter?
Shorter focal length can correct the distortion using software to gain better sharpness?

Note: Left means her left and not your left, sometimes,, and i confuse with left right..

Well, just my comment and i know it is very hard to take picture of kids.. I just comment the pic at conceptual level and i never take as good as this picture.