Improvement, or Stepping Backward???

[Aayria]

Has anybody else ever felt like whenever you take a step forward as a photographer, you take twice as many steps backwards? I suspect maybe it is just because as I progress and my eyes get better trained as far as what to look for in a photograph that I'm less forgiving of the little errors... But lately it has been hard to tell if I'm improving at all because I see the mistakes in my images so glaringly all the time:blushing:

Here are a few recent shots.. I'm looking for honest feedback and C&C about them individually, and also if you've followed my work at all, an opinion as to whether you think this is improvement or really going backwards.

These were taken the other day when I took my kids for a picnic at the beach. It was tricky to get good shots while I was busy keeping the children together, but here are the ones I'd consider the "best" from the day.

Thanks for taking the time as always!

1)

2)

3)

4)

 

[AlexL]

i don't think it is possible to step backwards The photos looks good to me! Love the 3rd photo, but I think you can crop a little bit closer unless you wanted to keep the picnic towel's corner.

 

[BrianLy]

Picture looks good, but I think your copy right is too big.

 

[Derrel]

I think that the group shot of them eating sandwiches (looks like PBJs) needs a bit more room at the top, and the same for the 4th shot. I think the way you are describing your self-evaluations of your photos shows that you're getting better,and more self-aware or self-critical. One thing I see in these is a higher-than-kid camera point of view, which sort of makes the photos from a "parental viewpoint", and makes the kids seem a little bit smaller, a little bit less-engaging as photographic subjects.

On all of these you are the detached photographer--the "observer". In 1,2,and 4, it's like you are watching your son, from a distance, and are just standing at full adult height. That sort of takes away from the "kid" feeling, of what it is like to watch the sand and water swirl around your toes at the beach, or what it is like to play on the sand. Anyway...a little bit more room around them for more freedom in the frame and a slightly lower camera angle and these would all feel very different.

 

[NateS]

C&C as requested

1 - like how one foot is submerged and one is not...however exposure is really off here. I know it's bad lighting.....but most of the image is underexposed while the exposed foot is pushing overexposure to the point of blowing out. Some fill flash (even built in flash) would have helped here.

2 - Again with the harsh lighting. Also doesn't look overly sharp...but not too off. Main thing for me is the crop. You have him placed dead center (vertically). I would crop it to either leave him at the bottom of the frame with the water above, or with him near the upper part of the frame with the sand below him....I'd do the second personally as the sand is bigger part of this photo than the water.

3 - Best one in my opinion. I like the crop everywhere except the top...bottom looks good as do the sides...I would just prefer a little breathing space above them.

4 - Another great shot. Harsh lighting again, but not too distracting since it's on his back side. At first I didn't like that he was looking down, but at second glance it appears as though he's carefully watching his step fits the photo.

 

[Aayria]

Thanks for the feedback and encouragement, everyone

I do as a rule of thumb try to get down to lower angles with children when photographing them.. But I think Derrel nailed why I wasn't *as* happy as I'd like with these. It was difficult to really get down and photograph from better low angles during our beach outting, because I was too busy being "mom" as well as photographer. I think that's why you get the overall "observer" feeling from this set.

I thought I'd put the full un/cropped edit of #3 on here so you could see why I chose to crop it like I did. The water seemed a bit grey and blown out, so I wasn't sure if it was worth keeping in the frame.