Baby Portrait for C&C

[Bo4key]

Here is a shot I took of my daughter at a recent BBQ we went to.

I realize that I am breaking a lot of composition and orientation rules but I think it works in this case. Maybe I think it works because of the sentimental value.

Canon Rebel T2i
f/5.6
ISO 200
Focal length 55 mm
On Camera Flash

I used a preset in Lightroom called "Faded Foto" by Brian Wheeler that I had found on the net.


What's over there.... by Boaketography, on Flickr

 

[Big Mike]

Maybe I think it works because of the sentimental value.

For this type of shot, that is often enough.
When I look through old family photo albums, I'm amazed at the overall poor quality of the photos...but that doesn't matter to the people who's memories are bound to those photos.

As for your photo, since we don't know you or your daughter...it just looks like a missed snapshot.

 

[tirediron]

Until you become more practiced family members and especially young children are not the best subjects because it's so much harder to be objective about your work. You see a precious family photo, but we see an image that looks like a hurried snapshot. I would pass on things like "actions" and so forth, and work on getting the basics, good focus, exposure, etc and then work on the creative side. You certainly don't need to follow the "rules" of composition, but it's a good idea to understand them.

 

[Bo4key]

Anyone else?

I got the typical TPF responses but would like some suggestion to fix the photo rather than someone just putting it down because it's a photo of my child.

 

[kundalini]

Anyone else?

I got the typical TPF responses but would like some suggestion to fix the photo rather than someone just putting it down because it's a photo of my child.

You've had two heavy hitters (and we ain't talking just post counts here) trying to give an explaination from an objective, emotionally removed point of view. Revisit your response next year this time.

 

[johnh2005]

Anyone else?

I got the typical TPF responses but would like some suggestion to fix the photo rather than someone just putting it down because it's a photo of my child.

Holy crap!?!?! Seriously. Of all the people on this forum I think Big Mike and TiredIron are probably two of the best to give good constructive crits. Both of them prefaced their crits with something to soften it up. They both said that because it IS a close family member it is hard to remove yourself from the photo and just judge it as a photo. It IS a photo of your child so no matter how bad it is from a critical standpoint it is a moment captured in time that you will likely enjoy for a LONG time. That is great. That is awesome. Treasure it as it is what it is because you love your child. There is NOTHING wrong with that.

Personally I think the edit is terrible. I don't like what you did with it at all. As you state is breaks "all of the rules" and it REALLY suffers because of it. If YOU like it that is great.

I personally think you need to step back and think about your response and maybe even apologize to the others who posted here in a very friendly fashion.

 

[Scoody]

I took some photos of a newborn Monday just hours after she was born. It was a little difficult for me because I have always felt that babies do not ever look thier best on day one. All pink and wrinkled. Does not make for a good shoot.

 

[ulrichsd]

to me, the plaid background to the left is distracting. I'd prefer portrait orientation if there isn't anything on the horizontal frame edges worth being in the picture.

 

[Bo4key]

I appreciate the comments from Mike and Tirediron, but I don't see the value in telling me to "pass on things like "actions" and so forth, and work on getting the basics" when I stated that I knew the picture was breaking certain rules. It doesn't add anything to the conversation. I see this same comment in 80% of the threads on the forum. While I agree it's essential to understand rules of composition, I find that it's the sole focus of most critiques and the content or capture of an image is ignored.

I'm sorry if I offended anyone, I was just looking for something a little more constructive rather the usual attack on composition.

In the case of this photo, I see that the right eye is out of focus and even though I used the pop up flash, I missed getting any catch light in her eyes.

Ulrichsd, thanks for the input. I agree that the plaid is a little distracting. I'm going to crop it later and see how it looks.

 

[Malone]

Something AgentDrex linked that I found very interesting and helpful, definitely worth a read!

Kill Your Darlings

 

[gsgary]

I appreciate the comments from Mike and Tirediron, but I don't see the value in telling me to "pass on things like "actions" and so forth, and work on getting the basics" when I stated that I knew the picture was breaking certain rules. It doesn't add anything to the conversation. I see this same comment in 80% of the threads on the forum. While I agree it's essential to understand rules of composition, I find that it's the sole focus of most critiques and the content or capture of an image is ignored.

I'm sorry if I offended anyone, I was just looking for something a little more constructive rather the usual attack on composition.

In the case of this photo, I see that the right eye is out of focus and even though I used the pop up flash, I missed getting any catch light in her eyes.

Ulrichsd, thanks for the input. I agree that the plaid is a little distracting. I'm going to crop it later and see how it looks.

There you go you say it's out of focus, out of focus connot be fixed, delete and shoot again

 

[Zrock]

This is why i will not post pic's of my baby girl.. you are to attached to the subject and no mater how hard you try you will take what is said to heart good or bad.. I can sit their and pick all of the bad things in my shots. But to me i don't care im happy with the overall look of my girls pictures and that's all that maters to me. I just want to be able to go look at them years from now and see how she grew up. If your happy with your pic's nothing else matters.
As soon as you can afford it get yourself a flash. Made a world of difference on my pic's since i can bounce and adjust the flash as needed.
Some of the best shots i have gotten of my little girl are totally by accident. I always keep the camera close and when she is playing its nothing for me to shoot off 100 or so shots.
For focusing i found it better to manually set the red focal point to the center instead of letting the camera select the best points. I found it would always select the wrong area and end up with a out of focus picture like yours.

 

[Bo4key]

A flash is definitely on my list as my next purchase. I recently bought my telephoto and a larger bag so it will have to wait a few weeks.

I do the same thing with the focus point on shots like these, but I think I simply missed it or my depth of field was too shallow.

 

[Kbarredo]

Lots of times people mistaken having their photos criticized with having the subject criticized. I don't like the sepia look and the vignette looks a little too heavy.

 

[Big Mike]

I do the same thing with the focus point on shots like these, but I think I simply missed it or my depth of field was too shallow.

It's not that I think you missed focus or that you broke some compositional rules or that I don't like the processing choice.

I think the 'problem' (if we can call it that) is that the photo doesn't seem to have a purpose or point. The child is looking out of the frame and the viewers have no idea what they are looking at. That can sometimes work, but we have to see some sort of expression on the subject's face...or something else that makes us wonder what they could be looking at. (or something else in the photo can give us clues). In this case, it just seems like you couldn't get the child to look at the camera, but you snapped the photo anyway.

Also, she'd putting her shirt/dress into her mouth. Does that add anything to the photo? I don't think so (but I don't know her, maybe it is important to you). It looks (to us) like you couldn't get her to put her hand down but you snapped the photo anyway.

So like I said, it's like you just snapped a random photo instead of waiting for a moment that would make for a better photo. Maybe there was something significant going on, which you know about and gives the photo more meaning to you....but we don't know that and the photo doesn't give us any clues.

Lastly, the image is a bit dark...especially her eyes. Some people just have darker eyes, but if you can get plenty of exposure in the eyes, it could become an interesting aspect of the photo. I don't think it would have saved this photo, but it's something to look for in the future. And while, yes, using the flash can add catch lights to the eyes...it will only add a bright dot. To really light up the eyes, you need a large light source...like a window or a bright sky.