Composition question

[gimmie5]

I recently took this photo of my son and am looking for composition critique. I was lucky that he even sat down for a brief moment to allow me to capture the shot, but am wondering if his elbow being cut off is distracting. Also, what about the tree in the back? Either way, it's a keeper in the Mom sense and will be framed on my wall, but I am looking to improve on the photography side as well.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

EXIF:
Nikon D60
1/160
f3.5
60mm
ISO 400
No flash

[Hill Country Hack]

Cute kid. This is a very nice "Mpm" picture. You pointed out the two most galing issues with this capture. You could go tighter with the crop and make it just a head and shoulders shot. As for the tree growing out of his head. You can clone it out if you have the proper software.

[graciousness]

Given that you mentioned it's a very rare occasion for your son to sit down for a second for a shot, I would just take this shot and runaway with it. He's exposed well enough (on my monitor, anyway) and he's got a cute smile on his face. Embrace it for its sentimental value and enjoy

So long as you realise what the potential issues are with your photos, then you know what to watch out for next time you get another opportunity.

Cheers,

Grace

[gimmie5]

Thanks for the comments. I had a feeling both the elbow and tree were a problem. Unfortunately I have not built up the courage to try Photoshop yet, so the cloning of the tree will have to wait.

[TNH]

Originally Posted by gimmie5

Thanks for the comments. I had a feeling both the elbow and tree were a problem. Unfortunately I have not built up the courage to try Photoshop yet, so the cloning of the tree will have to wait.

Aww, this is such a cute picture! He is soooo adorable! You really can't tell that he doesn't like to sit down for long, because he looks so relaxed.

The elbow doesn't really bother me too much, but it would still look better if it were in. So I would say, if you took it like that, then it's fine, leave it! But if you cropped his elbow out in PP, I'd re-crop it so that it wasn't cut off.

About the tree- I agree, it would look great if it were cloned out. It is kinda distracting.
You don't really need Photoshop or some expensive program to clone. You can download Gimp to do that. It is a completely free (and safe to download) photo editing program, you just download it straight to your computer. I have it, and love it. You can clone things out, make pictures with different layers, and all that cool stuff. For free! It's really great. You could easily clone out the tree with Gimp, easy as pie!

And if you decide you don't like Gimp, then you won't feel bad for buying it, because you didn't have to buy it.