Another Critique Please ;)

[BNHPhotography]

Here is another pictures of little Chandler from yesterday. The picture i posted yesterday i all ready knew what was wrong with it, this one i don't know what i could have changed to make it better. Although, he's only one, and can't stand up for a long time by himself, so his mommy was holding him by the belly to steady him while i took the shot. I didn't want just her hand and some of her arm to be in the shot, that's why there's only half of him. Enjoy.

Another question, for C&C is it better to post the original, and the edit?

 

[subscuck]

The immediate thing that jumps out is the framing. Why all the empty space behind him? Tho he's looking at the camera, his body is facing left, therefore the empty space should be on the left. Better yet, vertical (portrait) orientation works better than horizontal most of the time. Technically it's pretty good.

 

[subscuck]

Another question, for C&C is it better to post the original, and the edit?

It depends. If your looking for an answer about the edit, post the edit. If your looking for an answer on a technical issue like focus, exposure, etc., post the original.

 

[BNHPhotography]

got'cha thanks a lot! I was just curious, i joined 2 days ago, and i'm not really sure of the photo forum etiquette

 

[BNHPhotography]

Sorry, one more question. When i'm just taking a picture of someones upper half, like little Chandler, and that's all that i want, do i still do the photo vertically? And, why is that? Is it to keep more of just my subject in the frame, and not a lot on the left, and right? I need to read up more on my portrait photography....

 

[subscuck]

Basically, if you post a pic that's been edited to the bejeezus, and ask "why is this pic soft?", it's kinda hard to say with all the post that's been done. If you're posting a "finished product" and just looking for c&c, edited is fine.

 

[subscuck]

Sorry, one more question. When i'm just taking a picture of someones upper half, like little Chandler, and that's all that i want, do i still do the photo vertically? And, why is that? Is it to keep more of just my subject in the frame, and not a lot on the left, and right? I need to read up more on my portrait photography....

Again, it depends what you're going for. A lot of newbs find it hard to rotate the camera 90 degrees when doing a portrait type shot. We all did it when we started out, and it takes a conscious effort to remember to shoot portraits in vertical orientation. Hence the number of horizontal portraits you see on here. Horizontal can work, but in your case, he's crowded up against the left side of the frame. The empty space on the right is meaningless. Same with cars, planes, boats, etc. It looks better if the vehicle is moving into the frame, not out of it. Giving a person looking space in the direction they're looking or facing feels better than having them up against the frame in the direction they're looking or facing.

 

[mfo]

I'd try to get the verticals vertical. Either when shot or using arbitrary rotate in the editing.

 

[Kerbouchard]

I'll echo what has already been said. Generally, you want your subject to be facing into the frame instead of out of it. As it is, he is turning his back on the empty space which makes me wonder why it is there at all. Also, I would probably pull the blacks back just a bit. Seems a tad too contrasty.

 

[KmH]

An example of how vertical usually works better for portraits:

 

[BNHPhotography]

That looks a lot more intersting cropped like that. Thank you all for all the advice! I had another session this morning and made it a concious effort to try to do all of the portraits in the vertical position ill post another picture this evening of my experimenting today!

 

[vtf]

An example of how vertical usually works better for portraits:

Super portrait worth framing.

 

[Boyun]

A different taste all together, I like the original. The crop one is just a portrait, although I would crop deeper until the eyes position about on third from the top.

 

[KmH]

How would you frame the original?

Composition and framing is best done in the camera. Cropping requires reducing image resolution (discarding lots of pixels) .

Newbies tend not to know that an 8x10 is a different rectangular shape than a 5x7. The 8x10 has a 5:4 aspect ratio while the 5x7 has a 7:5 aspect ratio, and most DSLR cameras make images that have a 3:2 aspect ratio (4x6, 6x9, 8x12).

 

[Boyun]

The original suggests the subject is in a moment in time of a motion, therefore like it as it is. The portrait is the reflection of the subject not concerning with the movement, many people would follow a formula and there is nothing wrong with that.