My Handsome Brother

[vainsmith]

EXIF Info
Camera - Canon EOS Rebel T2i
Focal Length - 50
F Number - 1.8
Exposure - 1/60
ISO Between 200 - 400

I'm pretty sure I shot this photo in Aperture Priority mode - which is a mode that I just recently started using as I am learning more and more about my camera each day. I have been reading up on exposure and was wondering if this photo has any of those problems. Overall I would just love some honest critiques to become better as I am only a beginner. I have the hardest time taking sharp photos and even in the photo I see where the shoulder is kind of blurred out a bit. All in all this is one of my favorite photos I have shot and I just want to know if I am going in the right direction with portrait taking.

[kristenh]

he is handsome i think there might be a couple things interfering with your focus- your aperture of 1.8, for one thing, means that at this distance your depth of field is pretty slim- probably only a few inches- so that means it could be only a portion of his face will be in focus. also, your shutter speed is pretty slow, so you probably have some camera shake. finally, you can try your lens for "sweet spots" but i think this 50 mm would be at its very sharpest a little more stopped down. you probably will have to raise your iso so you get a faster shutter speed- at least 1/100 -even when you stop down a bit.

okay, one more finally, try to get a cleaner background, even if you do have good background blur- light spots still distract....

[ElCapitanoAwesomo]

i think it turned out pretty nice! The sweet spot kristenh is talking about is around 2.8 on the canon 50mm f/1.8. i tend to shoot at 1.8 primarily, but thats mostly because thats my preference.
As far as composition goes, it does ok. read up on the rule of thirds if you arent already familiar with it, and then begin to bring that into play. It will lead to more interesting compositions, and gives a little more feeling to the photographs. fo instance, right now, i'm left with the the thought of where he's looking at? even if there was just some negative space to the left (camera), it'd provide a little more context.

Exposure wise, it looks pretty good. On one hand, i'd say it's a little under exposed, but on the other, it seems a bit over, with the hotspotting on far side of his face. that may be on the account of the metering style set to spot metering or something else. if you set it to evaluative, it'd be a little easier to get properly exposed images when you're still learning. you can also read up on that as well to discover what you'd find most useful.

Great portrait though; it truly does say alot, and technically speaking, its pretty well executed!

[SGToliver]

Try cloning out the car in the bottom left. Otherwise you have a decent shot. Would have been nice to grab a shot of him looking into the camera.