I would love a critique please.....

bellacat · Oct 26, 2007

This was a very difficult session and I am having the hardest time editing my photos

The first photo is what i started with and the second is my most recent edit. I would love to C&C pretty please with a cherry on top

TIA

~Stella~ · Oct 26, 2007

Honestly, I'm not keen on the pose - she seems hunched up and the dress isn't draping well which detracts.

She's a very pretty young lady, but she seems rather uncomfortable.

I do like the setting and what you've done with it. I do like that you brightened up her face. I think your lighting is fine. I do think the quaint dress print works well with the setting, though I wouldn't have had her in tights.

Can you de-brighten the shoes/tights a notch? Edit a little of the droopy dress out under her hind end? See if you can brighten her eyes anymore and not look overworked? Edit the curve of her back a smidge so she doesn't look so hunched over?

EOS_JD · Oct 26, 2007

Your edit makes the image better but there are still issues with it.

I ask why you didn't open up the aperture and compose as you have edited? It would have made the final editing much more natural.

My problem with your edit is there seems to be a halo around your subject. Better use of a layer mask would sort this out however shooting with a wider aperture would have made the whole thing feel more natural.

bellacat · Oct 26, 2007

thanks for the feedback. I am still trying to get the hang of DOF so this is a hard learning process for me

and I'm shooting with film which sadly means my learning is taking that much longer. I will work on the photo some more with your suggestions. thanks

EOS_JD · Oct 26, 2007

Shooting with film shouldn't make any real difference. You compose a shot and you choose the aperture. To get the background more blurred, get closer to your subject and use a larger aperture.

In a shot like this you could have composed as you edited either by just be walking a little closer or standing back with a long lens and using a wide aperture.

Think about how you want the image to look when you look through the viewfinder.

bellacat · Oct 26, 2007

you are exactly right about the DOF. It just is taking me longer to figure out how to get the right DOF and still get the right exposure. I will get it eventually it is just frustrating sometimes having to wait to see the results instead of getting a glimpse instantly after the shot is taken.

This shot was actually part of a shoot which was meant to showcase the family and their home. The family planned on sending the photos with their final paper work for an international adoption so the crops were different than what i would have done has this been a portrait session. This is one of the photos that I thought would make a good portrait so I have tried to edit it as such.

bellacat · Oct 26, 2007

How is this? I fixed her slouch a bit so her back straightened a little more, removed some of the dress my her bum and darkened the shoes a tad so they are not as bright.

oldnavy170 · Oct 26, 2007

I think its a nice photo. I do prefer the second edit over the first. However the piece of hair that is hanging on her forehead is bugging me. You may want to edit that out. So that would be my only suggestion.

~Stella~ · Oct 26, 2007

I prefer the second - good job on the edits.

I'm torn on the hair - I noticed that but thought that removing it might make her too Wednesday-from-the-Adams-Family...kwim?

JimmyJaceyMom · Oct 26, 2007

~Stella~ said:
I prefer the second - good job on the edits.

I'm torn on the hair - I noticed that but thought that removing it might make her too Wednesday-from-the-Adams-Family...kwim?

haha funny.

I like the edited one too.

bellacat · Oct 26, 2007

thanks....I had thought about the wednesday look too. It must be halloween LOL

Neuner · Oct 26, 2007

I like the edited version better, however I would re-shoot the portrait with the appropriate aperture and lighting. I typically use f4 to make sure all of my subject is in focus with a blurred background. The fence/background is too bright compared to the subject. I would either bring more light to the subject or wait untill everything in the shot is in the shade. I wouldn't mess with this picture anymore, it looks too processed. Again, I would re-shoot it and learn from what you have done.

EOS_JD · Oct 27, 2007

I still see a sort of halo around the head and body. It's an area not as blurry as the rest. Fix that and it would look better.

EOS_JD · Oct 27, 2007

Seeing as you say your images are ok to edit, I ran a low opacity brush (blur tool) around the body and head to blur the sharper areas and used the liquify tool to straighten the back (which I see you already sorted).