Cute Baby. How to crop and adjust

[jen2swt]

I was taking random shots while at my son's football game yesterday. My friend had her daughter there and I was just shooting away to see if I could capture. Mind you, I was shooting with someone sitting in between us, so I had to shoot around that person to get decent shots. This one came out. I love her expression, but I'm not sure how to properly crop her. I thought I did ok. It didn't look right cropping her and have half a blurred face in the background.



Here is the original photo.
baby | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

I think the editing came out ok. I guess she looks a little soft? Maybe I made her skin too soft? This was the closest I could get from where I was sitting.

Any thoughts would be helpful. I'm really trying to learn how to PP and take decent shots.

Nikon D40, 1/500 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 500, 200mm, 0EV

[graciousness]

You know what, I actually prefer the original shot/crop with the mother and other people in the background, giving context to where the baby is. I think the edited crop is too tight and less interesting.

Your edit is fine. The softness of her face is due to the fact that she is well exposed and well, babies have soft skin What's important is that her eyes are in focus so you've done well with that.

How about editing the uncropped original?

[pkd14u]

I like the crop. I think there is too much going on in the uncropped photo, that takes away from that gorgeous baby. I wonder if you cropped a bit more on the right, to just in front of the blurred face, how that would look?

The colors and focus are fantastic. Perhaps a bit blown out on the baby's shirt.

[jen2swt]

Thank you. I will crop it right before the blurred head. I did that originally but it cut off the hand too..lol. It's like a no win situation.

I can edit the uncropped version, but I like the close-up look of the baby's face.

What a difference viewing it on another monitor makes. It loos so much softer at work than it does on my home computer.....I do see where the shirt is blown out. How would I be able to edit that without losing the softness of the baby?

[pkd14u]

Yeah, I noticed the hand. A tighter crop might not work for this photo. I do like it the way it is. That little guy is too cute!

[PhilD41]

I would be tempted to keep the landscape crop and move the baby to the right. After all, she is already looking "over the shoulder" and toward the left side of the photo. To me, it makes me wonder what exactly she is looking at. I have included a crop from the original for reference. I will be glad to delete if you would prefer, or after you have made up your mind.

[sheil]

Originally Posted by PhilD41

I would be tempted to keep the landscape crop and move the baby to the right. After all, she is already looking "over the shoulder" and toward the left side of the photo. To me, it makes me wonder what exactly she is looking at. I have included a crop from the original for reference. I will be glad to delete if you would prefer, or after you have made up your mind.

I like Phil's crop because it's composed a little better and, more importantly, the background is much simpler. The original crop has the second baby's head in the background and it's too distracting.

Also, not sure why the original crop's colors are so overexposed, but I think the original photo is fine as it is. Maybe a touch warmer, but you really don't need to bump up the exposure. It's washing out the kid's sweatshirt.

Great photo!

[jen2swt]

No, Phil I don't mind at all. That crop looks good! I like it.
I need to start thinking outside the box when it comes to cropping..

Thanks all for the comments. Much appreciated.

[PhilD41]

Originally Posted by jen2swt

No, Phil I don't mind at all. That crop looks good! I like it.
I need to start thinking outside the box when it comes to cropping..

Thanks all for the comments. Much appreciated.

You are welcome. I do okay thinking outside the box... now if I could just take a few good boxes to think outside of. :-) Keep it up!!