Portrait- should I crop it more?

[TNH]

I like this picture, but it seems like it needs something more.



--Is the sharpness/contrast good? It almost looks like it could be a little sharper, but I'm really not sure.

--It almost seems like I took this too far away. Should I have gone in closer? Should I crop in closer to her face to make it fill up more of the frame?
I did some editing to it, but I didn't crop it any.

--Also, does the white background distract you from her face too much? If I try a closer crop, it will take some of the background away, and it would solve that problem.


I would love to hear your thoughts on this. All critiques are very welcome! Feel free to edit and post the photo if you want to show me something that I could do in editing.
And as always, if there is anything else that you notice could use some work on, let me know. I want to do anything I can to make this a better picture!

Exif data:

Camera Nikon Coolpix S3000
Exposure 0.017 sec (1/60)
Aperture f/5.4
Focal Length 16.5 mm
ISO Speed 200
Exposure Bias 0 EV
Flash Auto, Fired

I always appreciate your help! TFL

[Hill Country Hack]

First of all, very nice crisp eyes with catchlights! I don't see any distracting shadows. Be proud of that.

Composition- Her eyes are dead center. Here is where the crop can help. Most beauty shots I see in magazines have the eyes in the upper third of the frame. There are many times the top of the head is cropped to move the eyes up. Take a look in Cosmo, Vogue, Sixteen, etc. I may prefer something other than a straight on shot. Just a slightest turn of the head?

Your background looks like a standard textured wall and for me is distracting. if you can, open the apeture a bit more and move the subject further away from the wall.

If you brightened the whites of her eyes, very well done. The tip of her chin is a little hot, as is her forehead. The off kilter neck of her shirt is a bit distracting.

Overall...a very nice job! Mess around with it some more. If you shoot in RAW (not sure if your camera can) and use Lightroom, you can play all you want without changing the original image file.

I'm hoping the more experienced here will chime in also. Keep shooting!

[Matthias099]

Take a look at this guide for the rule of thirds. This will help greatly for this kind of shots (and pp for that matter).

Rule of Thirds

[prince]

Usually a center composition is used when you are trying to create a dramatic portrait. Here you can shift off-center. Try to use a large window light instead of on camera flash to get better lighting effect. Also, try to get a 3/4th face instead of straight on.

There is a bit more room above her head, which you can remove to get a bit tighter crop.

Overall, I liked the sharpness and her expression.

Good luck!!

[Tiberius]

Everything is good except for the lighting. The on camera flash is always hell on photos. As Prince said, a large window will give softer light.

[bphilleo]

I agree about the flash. Bouncing the flash or window lighting is always better than hitting them head on with flash. Looks good otherwise =)

[danbaileyphoto]

Agree, getting the flash off camera is the first and often the best way to improve flash shots. It just gives the scene so much more texture and dynamic quality. There are a lot of ways to do this, and bouncing is certainly one option.

I cover a lot of this stuff in my brand new ebook, Going Fast With Light. Look for the link in my signature. It's really not that hard to light a scene well, you just have to become familiar and confident with the gear and some of the standard techniques.

Photography is all about learning and constantly improving. We all keep getting better each time we take more photos. It's a never ending process.

[TNH]

So sorry, everyone, for not getting back with you sooner!! Terribly rude of me, I know. I've been so busy lately! Thanks for all of your comments, everyone!

Originally Posted by Hill Country Hack

First of all, very nice crisp eyes with catchlights! I don't see any distracting shadows. Be proud of that.

Composition- Her eyes are dead center. Here is where the crop can help. Most beauty shots I see in magazines have the eyes in the upper third of the frame. There are many times the top of the head is cropped to move the eyes up. Take a look in Cosmo, Vogue, Sixteen, etc. I may prefer something other than a straight on shot. Just a slightest turn of the head?

Your background looks like a standard textured wall and for me is distracting. if you can, open the apeture a bit more and move the subject further away from the wall.

If you brightened the whites of her eyes, very well done. The tip of her chin is a little hot, as is her forehead. The off kilter neck of her shirt is a bit distracting.

Overall...a very nice job! Mess around with it some more. If you shoot in RAW (not sure if your camera can) and use Lightroom, you can play all you want without changing the original image file.

I'm hoping the more experienced here will chime in also. Keep shooting!

Thanks!
Ah, I didn't know about that rule.. now that you mention it, I have noticed that in magazines. And yes, a different angle of her head probably would have been better, I'll experiment some more. lol
Well, I WOULD open my aperture more, but my camera can't do that. I have no control over the aperture or anything like that... :P But I am saving up for another camera that CAN.
Yes, I did brighten her eyes a bit, thanks! You mean, her forehead and chin are 'hot' as in, there is light shining on them? How should I fix that in my editing?
Haha, I didn't even notice the crooked shirt. Maybe I can do some cropping or cloning to make that a little better. Worth a try!
Silly question probably, but what does it mean to shoot in RAW?
Thank you SO MUCH for all of your advice I really appreciate it!

Originally Posted by Matthias099

Take a look at this guide for the rule of thirds. This will help greatly for this kind of shots (and pp for that matter).

Rule of Thirds

Yea, yea, I know about that rule, thanks for the link though. LOL
And I usually follow it, but I see some portraits where the head is in the middle of the frame, and there is a close crop. School portraits, for example, have their heads in the middle of the frame, and they still look good.
Are there times in portrait photography when you should break the rule of thirds? I see people do it a lot.
I may try putting her more to the side of the frame with a crop... I'll try and show you the result.

Originally Posted by prince

Usually a center composition is used when you are trying to create a dramatic portrait. Here you can shift off-center. Try to use a large window light instead of on camera flash to get better lighting effect. Also, try to get a 3/4th face instead of straight on.

There is a bit more room above her head, which you can remove to get a bit tighter crop.

Overall, I liked the sharpness and her expression.

Good luck!!

Thanks, I'll try to turn off the flash next time.
I'll remember to use a different angle next time! Thanks!
I was thinking I should crop out some of the space above he head. I'll try it and see what I end up with!

Originally Posted by Tiberius

Everything is good except for the lighting. The on camera flash is always hell on photos. As Prince said, a large window will give softer light.

Originally Posted by bphilleo

I agree about the flash. Bouncing the flash or window lighting is always better than hitting them head on with flash. Looks good otherwise =)

Ok, I gotcha. I'll turn off the flash next time, and open the window. What does it mean to 'bounce the flash'?
Thank for the tips, both of you!

Originally Posted by danbaileyphoto

Agree, getting the flash off camera is the first and often the best way to improve flash shots. It just gives the scene so much more texture and dynamic quality. There are a lot of ways to do this, and bouncing is certainly one option.

I cover a lot of this stuff in my brand new ebook, Going Fast With Light. Look for the link in my signature. It's really not that hard to light a scene well, you just have to become familiar and confident with the gear and some of the standard techniques.

Photography is all about learning and constantly improving. We all keep getting better each time we take more photos. It's a never ending process.

Cool, I'll check out that link! Thanks!

[prince]

Bouncing the flash Bounce Flash Photography - YouTube

RAW is one of the formats for images just like .JPG, TIFFm etc. RAW is a digital negative. Different camera manufacturers have different extensions for their respective RAW formats, ex. Nikon calls it NEF, Canon calls it CRW/CR2. RAW formats look bland SOOC (Straight Out Of Camera) but they allow you lot of flexibility in post processing.

[ElectroChris]

I have many times taken a piece of white paper and held it in front of my flash - right up against it - to get the light softer. You may need to bump up the exposure compensation one step when doing this.