Another first C&C post

jbeanv · Mar 23, 2009

Took these this morning, let me know what you think!

Edit
#1 - 1/1000, 7.7mm, f/6.4, ISO 800
#2 - 1/500, 7.7mm, f/6.4, ISO 200
#3 - 1/80, 7.7mm, f/4.0, ISO 800 (blurred the edges a tad w/my photo editor)

jbeanv · Mar 23, 2009

Anyone? I added info for each pic also

Ptyler22 · Mar 23, 2009

The last one is the best IMO, for the macro's I would have shot them wide open at the lowest F-stop you can, for the least Depth of field, blurring the background more, the last one is good, but it's a little underexposed for this shot, because the eyes are a little too dark.

Sherman Banks · Mar 23, 2009

1. You might want to shoot something like this in softer lighting (evening or morning), or even take it from the sunny side so it's not backlit. You've also cropped the plant but left plenty of the dirt in the frame which doesn't contribute much to the photo.

2. Think about your cropping again, you've included part of your roof and a bit of something else towards the bottom. These distract from your subject and are easily avoidable. Lighting on this one is still a bit harsh.

3. Looks a little soft and underexposed. You will want more direct lighting on his face to get sharpen it up and get his eyes to pop. The cropping on this one has taken out his ear and the top of his head. Cute kid though!

Hope my critique doesn't sound too harsh, but cropping and exposure can be easily fixed, even using post production (photoshop, etc.). A recent thread around here talked about framing more than you want to use and crop down afterwards. That is especially good advice here.

rufus5150 · Mar 23, 2009

On #1 with that much light, ISO 800 is completely unnecessary. You can back it down to 200 and still shoot at 1/250. A good choice of subject with the backlit because its translucent enough that it makes the whole body 'glow'. Definitely shot at the wrong time of the day without somehow softening the light and the cropping leaves a lot to be desired as has been mentioned.

On #2 you've got a good idea in that you have a subject that has a background that gives context. The rest of it doesn't really work. This is not an image that benefits from a centered composition and inclusion of the house is not helping it at all. A good idea to ask yourself when composing is not what to add to the composition, but what I can I add by removing elements. Also, your subject is in harsh shadow for a good chunk of it and the shadows are not attractive. They conceal subject elements rather than define them.

#3 is underexposed, white balance is off, the direction of the light shadows his eyes (this can sometimes be dealt with in post, but not always). The vertical element of the composition are good but the horizontal in the case should be centered or at least enough to bring the subject's ear into frame.