First Glitz shot CC Please

gigiphotography · May 8, 2010

myfotoguy said:
I like it, nice job composing and posing. Did you do anything in post?

I agree with the focus being sharper, where was your focus point, or were you in auto-area letting the cmaera choose the focus point? Although it could be slight camera shake. Was this shot on a tripod? The exif reports 1/40 at 42mm. That may not be the issue, but I'll speak to it should it prove helpful to you (or anyone else) in case they have not heard this before:

A rule of thumb for overcoming camera shake is 1/focal length. So if your lens is at 42mm, the rule would be around where you had it (1/40). However, since there is a crop factor on some cameras (1.5 on the Nikon) that's a 35mm equivalent of 63mm (35mm film cameras is what the 1/focal length rule was created for). That would mean 1/60 for a steady shot. At 1/40 this puts the shot past the edge of being able to hold it steady.

Some folks can hand hold to lower speeds than others, and good holding technique can make a big difference, so that's just a guide to keep in mind. Also, a flash when appropriate for the shot will help (within reason). Add to the mix concerns of composition and the distraction of the joy of taking pictures of your cute kid and hand holding steady enough falls in the "things to remember" category that sometimes gets forgotten in the details of all the other shot concerns.

Sorry to go off on that tangent, but thought it might be useful info, even though it has been talked about before. Like I said, some folks reading this may not have heard that before.

I bet your having fun getting shots of your adorable girl with your D90. I chase my kids around all the time. I just checked my photo organizer/database, I have 7,199 photos of my 4 year old daughter. That's an average of 4-5 a day! LOL.

Thank you so much you are one of the few nice people on here that I've experienced and helpful too. Thank you!

gigiphotography · May 8, 2010

shmne said:
Some quick notes:

The highlight is pretty distracting to me, to the point where I can't even look past it to see what kind of material is around her head.

Slightly soft focus

Some very weird discoloration under her eyes, the shadows are looking pretty blue yet the rest of her skin is warmer. Upon further inspection I'm realizing this is because of the light coming in and bouncing off of the hat like thingy and the extreme red is coming from the scarf. (Hope you don't mind but I put the image on my computer so I can expand it and see it better)

I believe the reason people are liking her eyes so much is because they are the only thing in focus (more so than the rest) and because they are the brightest thing around. The image is pretty dark for a glitz shot.

The posing isn't bad, and the composition works very well for what it is. I would take Rrr3319's advice and next time watch for what they are doing. Make sure they aren't doing anything unflattering.

Just checked the exif data and I really want to say, take your camera out of full auto. The shutter speed was dropped to 1/40 and the iso was cranked up to 800 (not bad in this case, but sometimes that 800 can go up to 1600 and just ruin a shot completely). Since you probably didn't notice the shutter speed had dropped so low, I can almost bet that is why this image is so slightly blurred in the focused areas.

There is something here, I mean you got the posing and composition pretty nice. Just keep practicing and train your eyes to really judge how an image looks. Also try out the aperture priority mode as a first step away from full auto

Thanks for your advice. It def was one of the darker shots that I took of her but one of the only ones that she was looking at me. Hard to work with a tired 3 year old that's your own. This was my first try at glitz bc I don't want to spend the $100's of dollars for one picture. Thanks for your help.

gigiphotography · May 8, 2010

Rrr3319 said:
looks a little bit dark to me. the other thing i notice, which might be hard to explain to a kid, is that with her hand under the side of her face, it's smushing in her face. if you can get her to hold the hand there without actually resting on the hand, it will get the same pose without the "cheek smush". i think you're off to a good start though. my opinion is you just need a little more light and a slightly different pose.

Her hand on her face was one of the first things I noticed. I took several pictures and this was just one of the best ones I had to work with. It is hard to tell a toddler not to smoosh on their face. Thanks for your advice though and yes it is dark.

burstintoflame81 · May 8, 2010

I think the lighting could be better. Looks to me like the hat is a little blown. Hard to tell on my laptop though. I also think that the eyes do not look natural. They look over saturated. Also, based on the pics on that link someone posted, ( as scary and troubling that those pics are ) most of the pics have ample amounts of re-touching most notably, skin blur. That, with the eyes toned down a little and better lighting/exposure, would probably get you where you want to be.

KmH · May 8, 2010

Derrel said:
gsgary said:

Photo Contest Winners

Click to expand...

Wow, what a travesty.

+1

NSFW

Like LaFoto said. They don't look human. They look like they have flat faces because there is zero shadow modeling or detail.

mrpink · May 8, 2010

gsgary said:
Photo Contest Winners

Please..... make them stop...... looking..... at me........

p!nK

AnneRiceBowl · May 8, 2010

Well, I completely abhore the idea of pageants.

With that said, never work with a tired 3 year-old. Nothing good will come of it.

ghpham · May 8, 2010

Nice looking young lady, lovely eyes. I think over all the sharpness and lighting could be improve. However, I don't recommend you change her skin to look like the one's on that site. They don't look human!