Penny for your thoughts?

Great.. Everyone keeps saying "contrast" so I will def. see what I can come up with.
 
Great pictures! :) Keep it up. If you didnt know this, you can edit your pictures online at photoshop.com It is just a free online thing, nothing like the real photoshop but it works.
 
Great pictures! :) Keep it up. If you didnt know this, you can edit your pictures online at photoshop.com It is just a free online thing, nothing like the real photoshop but it works.

I do have an online account, but I've found Picaca 3 just as much if not more satisfying and just as free ;) Im really happy nobody has yet said "Ewwww" as I read on one of the other posts (of a BEAUTIFUL picture) .. So intimidating.
 
I'm going to have to disagree about the composition in most of these. #4's head is cropped; #5's head and hands are cropped; and #6's head and arm are cropped.

Also, #4 has a distracting background -- opening up your lens aperture could help blur some of that out; and #5-6 have distracting shadows, especially #5 where I can see you taking the picture.

#2 is interesting, but I think the view point is not so good. I would suggest kneeling down to his level, or close to the log -- experiment with depth of field.

Also, most of the edited pictures have tight crops with make the subjects appear in the center of the frame. Most of the time that results in a picture that does not feel "dynamic" (i.e., interesting), so place them off center next time. Google "rule of thirds" or composition basics if none of that made any sense.

Hopefully that helps some.
 
I'm going to have to disagree about the composition in most of these. #4's head is cropped; #5's head and hands are cropped; and #6's head and arm are cropped.

Also, #4 has a distracting background -- opening up your lens aperture could help blur some of that out; and #5-6 have distracting shadows, especially #5 where I can see you taking the picture.

#2 is interesting, but I think the view point is not so good. I would suggest kneeling down to his level, or close to the log -- experiment with depth of field.

Also, most of the edited pictures have tight crops with make the subjects appear in the center of the frame. Most of the time that results in a picture that does not feel "dynamic" (i.e., interesting), so place them off center next time. Google "rule of thirds" or composition basics if none of that made any sense.

Hopefully that helps some.

Hey, Thanks! A lot of that makes perfect sense! Let me see if I can do better editing. I appreciate it!
 
Jami, I took the liberty of editing the one that I thought had the most potential. All I did was cropped it a bit differently, increased the contrast and the saturation a bit, and put a slight vignette on it and this is what I came up with

IMG_30971.jpg


people may, or may not, like it - but this is what I saw as soon as I saw the original image.
 
I love it! Thank you for also telling me HOW you did it! Im going to try to do it myself. I'm one of those who have to do things hands on. It means a lot to me that someone took the time to help!
 
I have always loved children against brick/weathered slat walls ... the only thing that I would suggest is that you use a solid color shirt next time ... the pattern in his shirt and the pattern from the mortar in the bricks are a crazy clash.

I'm not saying that this is a great picture, but it's an example of a solid color against a weathered slat siding:

Jaryn2.jpg


wow this one's "too flat" too ... needs a bunch more contrast and needs to be darkened a bit and there is some clipping of the highlights on her left shoulder ... *eek* ... ok, just take this for face value, I guess I should go back and reprocess this one...
 
Jami
Other than the shot with your nephew in it, the other shots have the sun behind the subject.

When you do that, you have to be careful about the angle of the sun and how it reflects off the backround and your lens.

Maybe change your angle some next time you try that.
Also, while talking about the sun, the time of day makes a difference too. During the morning and evening, the sun offers a 'softer' cast, sometimes really helping when shooting the way you have here.
 
Jami
Other than the shot with your nephew in it, the other shots have the sun behind the subject.

When you do that, you have to be careful about the angle of the sun and how it reflects off the backround and your lens.

Maybe change your angle some next time you try that.
Also, while talking about the sun, the time of day makes a difference too. During the morning and evening, the sun offers a 'softer' cast, sometimes really helping when shooting the way you have here.

Im about to make a newbie comment (wait for it, wait for it).. IVE ALWAYS WONDERED ABOUT THE SUN AND HOW TO SHOOT AROUND IT! Ive heard stay behind it, but with the lake in the way I didnt have a choice unless I wanted a squinting child. This was shot around 5 in the evening. So maybe I should try more 7ish? This is my backyard so I have the oppourtunity to try and try again. Once again, another very helpful post! You guys are great!
 
I agree about the good composition. I included an edit just to show how upping the contrast could bump up the photo. The posted images are really too low-res for proper editing, but this gets the point across.

IMG_26801.jpg
 
Yes I do not have a great camera.. its true :) My resolution blows. I do see what you guys are saying about the contrast though. It works much better.
 
Nice start here. I think a little bit of your problem with the contrast is that you are getting lens flare. Shooting into the sun or a backlit situation it is easy to forget to shade your lens. If you shade it, either with a professional lens shade for your camera or even your hand or a folder, the raw image will have much better contrast. Overall great job, your cropping is really nice and I love the profile of your son. Hang in there. Just get better every time you shoot.
 

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