A couple of my photos for cc

[Shadowbox]

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[SNBniko]

#1, can't see her eyes, hair in the face is distracting. Distracting background as well. Get lower to be on the child's level next time.

#2, can't see the eyes, gum in the mouth is distracting. Not sure why the kid is winking. I like the contrast between the blue coat/hat/swing chains and the green of the back ground. Did you do any PP to this? I am seeing some weird blur lines I think, and maybe some distortion on the left side.

#3, straighten the horizon, it also looks a little OOF to me, but I'm a newb: what do I know?

((How did I do? haha))

 

[KevinPutman]

#1, can't see her eyes, hair in the face is distracting. Distracting background as well. Get lower to be on the child's level next time.

#2, can't see the eyes, gum in the mouth is distracting. Not sure why the kid is winking. I like the contrast between the blue coat/hat/swing chains and the green of the back ground. Did you do any PP to this? I am seeing some weird blur lines I think, and maybe some distortion on the left side.

#3, straighten the horizon, it also looks a little OOF to me, but I'm a newb: what do I know?

((How did I do? haha))

You did well,
I second what he said.

 

[Shadowbox]

Thanks, I was on her level though lol .. I loved her expression in this one, so are you suggesting that only photos where you can see a persons eyes are quality? Thanks for the info! On the 2nd photo I blurred the background, the sun was in his face so he was squinting plus that's what he ALWAYS does, I call him pop eye because he is always winking. I have like 3 pictures where he's not. I will have to look up what OOF means, as for the straight horizon, I have seen this comment in other photos as well and I don't understand? I guess because I almost always take crooked horizon pics (my preference) and I didn't realize there was a problem with that. I use PP just to blur the bg on some pics but I do not know how to remove the shadows from her face. Her hair was messy that day, does the way a child look matter? Her grandma was mad I took pics of her with messy hair haha. I thought she looked cute and so concentrated in thought.

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

I love the uber-saturation of #2. I think it is a great candid!
I would like to see the background straightened, only because I like the background being divided in halves. This pic has an interesting "In your face" quality, all around.

 

[KevinPutman]

does the way a child look matter?

Yes,
I'm not quite photography smart to tell you why exactly,
but the way your model looks is a huge part of the image.
Eyes are the main focus usually, (you'll want to focus on them, then set up your shot from there),
OOF = out of focus.
Crooked horizon would mean that it's not perfectly straight. It's very slightly, ( or sometimes quite a bit) slanted. And it's a big no-no for pictures.

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

I would say, straightening backgrounds is important, unless you mean for it to add to the image. Most of the time, it just looks sloppy. Always try to pay attention to your backgrounds! Pay attention to detail.
#1 may be a cute candid for you, but I see it as a quick snap, not suitable for framing. #2 I would totally frame.

 

[Shadowbox]

Thank you, the one's I have of children are all candid shots so the settings of him chewing gum or her messy hair wasn't in my control but I love candid pictures. However, I can't figure out how to make my pictures less exposed and I have been studying ISO and Aperture with my camera but I either end up with over exposure or not enough light. I will figure it out eventually with the help of this forum, I'm sure. In a photo like this one, which I can control, what are some recommendations?

 

[SNBniko]

Your background blurring is a little sloppy on the left chain of the swing for the second photo... there is some of the background that is in focus that I don't think you mean for there to be. EDIT: It's on the right chain too, at the top.

If you like your pictures, by all means, enjoy every drop out of them. You asked for a critique and I offered one. Take what you like, leave what you don't. No harm done!

 

[Shadowbox]

Your background blurring is a little sloppy on the left chain of the swing for the second photo... there is some of the background that is in focus that I don't think you mean for there to be. EDIT: It's on the right chain too, at the top.

If you like your pictures, by all means, enjoy every drop out of them. You asked for a critique and I offered one. Take what you like, leave what you don't. No harm done!

LOL I've never seen someone be defensive about a reaction to their critique before. Sorry, I was just asking you to clarify and I added the blur in a hurry so I agree it's sloppy. I just wanted to try blurring the tree's and not the grass and sloppily did not care if the top of the chains went along with it. I agree with you on it being sloppy .. I don't know why you seem offended by my reaction, but lets not dwell. I appreciate constructive criticism, I need it to grow in all area's of life, including photography. Thanks!

 

[SNBniko]

....is not offended in the least. haha. Miscommunication. No big deal. Enjoy!

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

LOL I've never seen someone be defensive about a reaction to their critique before.

Yeah, you're new.

 

[subscuck]

The answers to your questions are dependant on what you want out of photography. Are you happy taking candids and quick snaps? If so, work on understanding the technical aspects of photography (proper exposure, focus, etc.) and don't worry about the rest. If you're looking to be more serious about it, and make pics that people take a second look at, then you have to concern yourself with things like composition, posing, lighting, etc. Ignore the praise heaped upon you by family and friends, they have an emotional attachment to the subject matter, as do you, so objectivity goes right out the window.

Crooked horizons. Well, you say it's a preference, I say it makes me tilt my head when I look at it. Since I don't walk around with my head tilted, I find it visually uncomfortable to look at pics with crooked horizons. I keep waiting for the bridge to slide out the left side of my monitor. I won't be the last person to tell you this. Convention is important. Convention exists because it's what most people like and look for, as well as usually being what's most aestheticaly pleasing. But again, if the pics are for you're own personal consumption, do whatever you want. OTOH, if you make them public, people are going to point out what they don't like, and what they won't like is your breaking from convention. Obviously, abstract and "art" photos play by different rules.

As far as the pic you posted further down, what were you trying to capture? Is the bridge the subject? If so, the building behind the bridge is a distraction. Was the building the intended subject? If so the bridge is a distraction. In either case, the branch covering half the frame is distracting. If it were possible, a different angle would have been preferable. The clouds also appear to be overexposed, and could possibly be recovered in ACR, but I'm not sure you can shoot RAW with your cam.

Keep shooting, keep posting, and above all, be thick skinned and open to the C&C you recieve. Nothing will create negetivity towards you faster than you defending everything you've done wrong by saying "that's my preference" or "that's how I like it" or any other constant defense of what people are telling you needs to be changed. If you make constant excuses, people here will see it as resistance to their experience and wisdom, and it never ends well. Welcome to the forum, there's a lot of resources for someone who wants to learn and improve.

 

[MissCream]

My sister in law has really sensitive eyes and tends to squint outside a lot. What I get her to do is close her eyes then I count to three, get her to open them then take the picture

 

[Leftyplayer]

The first one is a snapshot of a very adorable kid. But from a photography perspective, it's uneventful.

I like the second one. It's a nice candid and I like the color saturation, though it's overexposed and I find that a bit distracting.

The problem with the tilt on the third one is not that you tilted it, it's that the tilt adds nothing and actually distracts from the image. The horizon doesn't HAVE to be straights in all photographs. But if you're tilting just for the sake of tilting or because a tilt makes you think it's more "artsy", then there's no point. I say this last comment because it's something I was doing at first. Landscapes and settings are not my strength, so I'd find myself making things crooked as an "out" - it was a way to add something "off" to a picture that was otherwise quite bland. So, start taking pictures with a straight horizon and learn to make those interesting and technically accurate. Once you can do that, you can start to experiment with when and how an off horizon adds to your image.

As a mom and relative newbie myself, I also want to give you a tip. Step away from the children LOL. They are our easiest models, but it's also very hard for us to assess when a photograph of our children is a good photograph ... or just a photograph of our child that we love. There IS a difference. I have found that I've gotten better by practicing photography with other subjects (I love portraits and candids as well). That doesn't mean that I don't practice with my kids as well - but I don't as much stock in those shots just yet (though, as I've improved I've gotten better candids of them that I love just because they are my babies and because I'm a little better at photography now). So find different subjects as much as possible.