Evening Mountaintop Portrait

[Adamcha]

This is part of a set of photos I did for a lady my mom knows. This one is my favorite, and I would like to get the opinions of others on this shot.

[AlphaBjerke]

At the very first, I went, "whoa" because the colors and the crispness just jumped out at me. I was impressed the moment I saw it. I also like the composition because it is different; it is sort of odd (to me, in a good way) the way the boy seems huge in the setting. Usually it is the other way around: a boy would seem much smaller than the grassy hills and sky. Interesting. I also like the grass in the foreground.

I am really partial to seeing what people look like, but this one is not that kind of photo with his mouth/chin partially covered. However, if it were me (and I don't know what I am doing, just trying to copy others and take their advice), I would lighten the whites of his eyes and try to get those to stand out just a bit.

I like the lighting on his face and it seems like the color temp is good, but again, I am not an expert and we are all looking on different monitors.

Hope that helps! I like it!

[AlphaBjerke]

In case you were interested, I just asked my wife what she thought.

She didn't like it like as much as I did, so if you don't want to see, don't look.






She said, "It is nice if you like a big elbow in your face," and "I would rather see my kid's face." "Other than that it is great."

Then she went on to say that the arm looked fake, like a big stuffed fake arm.

I told you these things because I appreciate honest feedback way better than undeserved pats on the back.

[Adamcha]

Originally Posted by AlphaBjerke

In case you were interested, I just asked my wife what she thought.

She said, "It is nice if you like a big elbow in your face," and "I would rather see my kid's face." "Other than that it is great."

Then she went on to say that the arm looked fake, like a big stuffed fake arm.

I told you these things because I appreciate honest feedback way better than undeserved pats on the back.

Lol. She is entitled to her opinion. I tried to get more of his face, but at this point in the day, I was lucky to get what I got. Is she a photographer too? I have am going to have to remember "big stuffed fake arm," that's great!

And I think I will take your advice about lightening the whites of his eyes, I didn't think about it prior to posting it. Thanks for your and your wife's comments!

[audrey-g]

i like the boy's pose. i think you captured him in a very natural way. i don't mind part of the face being covered as long as both eyes are still visible. the only comment i can find is that one eye seems to have a shadow that could have been removed by using the flash. other than that i think it's a great portrait

[jlegot]

I have am going to have to remember "big stuffed fake arm," that's great!

I think this is due to the wide angle lens (20mm say flickr), use a longer focal lenght (like 50mm) to avoid deformations.

[toddybear]

I like it.
The only thing bothering me is the light on the face. As audrey-g said there is a shadow that could have been removed.

[Adamcha]

Originally Posted by jlegot

I think this is due to the wide angle lens (20mm say flickr), use a longer focal lenght (like 50mm) to avoid deformations.

I use a 50mm quite a bit, but I did not have enough space to use the 50mm in this particular spot.

Originally Posted by toddybear

I like it.
The only thing bothering me is the light on the face. As audrey-g said there is a shadow that could have been removed.

I think my reflector probably caused the shadow on the opposite side of his face. That happened on several shots from that day. It was my first time using reflectors, and I learned quite a bit (from the mistakes).