More Munchkin for CC....overload warning.

cailinp · Jun 10, 2010

Soooooo, I'm learning....or at least attempting to. I dragged the little munchkin out again to take some photos. Here are some that I got. Sorry for the overload. Please give me your honest .002 on what I can do to improve. Danke.

TylerF · Jun 10, 2010

they all seem a bit soft to me. but that could be me lol

cailinp · Jun 10, 2010

They probably are. I have been trying to teach myself to use manual focus. I know, I know. It's tough to do with a bouncing off the walls kid. I'm just not quick enough yet for it.

Derrel · Jun 10, 2010

Awwww! What a lovely child. The first photo is the strongest. I really like the low camera angle, and the way her eyes are looking off in the distance. I think cropping a small amount off of the left side, or adding more canvas to the right hand side of the frame, would balance the composition out better, by giving her more space to "look into" than currently exists.

#2 has insufficient DOF. You could if you wanted, use the lasso tool and select the nearer areas of her face and then Sharpen them, fade that, the re-sharpen,and fade that, and in a small-sized image, sort of rescue the image a bit. Cute expression, nice moment, but technically not too good.

#3-It's okay. Pleasing, but nothing fantastic, nothing horrible though either. A nice family snap of your DD.

#4 toss it. #5 cute snap, shows her lovely eye color, and shows her in a frustrated moment, capturing part of the mercurial nature of little kids. Not great, but not bad either. My second-favorite of the bunch.

#6 I dunno...cute as a family snap, but not great. The white object in the background is a bit distracting.

rpm · Jun 10, 2010

off topic, did you edit the eyes? cause wow she has amazing eyes...the color...the vibrant colors...

back on topic...

they're all great snaps. i find number 1 is one that elevates itself from the everyday snap...even with its over exposure...i love how the focus of the image seems to be the eyes (im an eye person lol). theres also seems to be a story captured in 1...almost like a movie still....love it! (IMHO)

keep them all tho! which im sure you will do.

katy625 · Jun 10, 2010

First off don't toss any of them. They r all precious. I love the colors and her skin tone. Believe me I TOTALLY understand the softness of the pics being due to a energetic child. I struggle with this hardcore and I find that getting sharp pics of children under the age of 7 is near impossible....unless they r newborn or sleeping. So I say good job!

BrianLy · Jun 10, 2010

The second one is the best I think.

rusty9 · Jun 10, 2010

sorry but this is bothering me: it would be 'your honest 0.02 cents worth' not 0.002; that would be a fraction of a penny

anyway, i like #5 the best.

jajomo · Jun 10, 2010

Agree the eyes are amazing (edited or not). Contrast between her skin color and background isn't strong enough for me..... but love the composition of #1.

Lazy Photographer · Jun 10, 2010

Wow, lovely shot. I like the second and the second last best but they are all nice. Maybe a couple are slightly over exposed, though. Nothing serious.

cailinp · Jun 11, 2010

Thanks all. I did edit her eyes a bit. Nothing too over the top though. Just upped the clarity and saturation a tad.

Rusty...Thanks for the 2 cent clarification! Funny. =)

Derrel, I LOVE your cc on everyones photos. The good and the bad and the brutal honesty. I hope you know it is much appreciated! Great pointers with no sugar coating. I also only use Lightroom as Photoshop gives me a serious headache trying to figure out layers and masks. I will master it one day though. After I master the photo taking I guess.

guitstik · Jun 11, 2010

The first three are my favorites even tho they are rather soft. I understand about taking pictures of children but the one complaint I would possibly make is, lobotomizing people in pictures. My mother-in-law does it in every single picture she takes even after I have explained it to her, whomp, there goes the top of another head. But very nice shots of a precious child.