candid shot c&c please

[Shadowbox]

This is a candid shot of my niece in the way that we were just playing at the park, no photo shoot but I did set up my camera before I took all of the photos. I am using it on manual now on my D7000 and find that a lot easier for me than manual on d40x. I mean I put it on manual and since I can change each setting with a different button it clicks for me a lot easier than with D40x. My one issue is still understanding if I were in Aperture mode and I wanted the shutter speed higher as it got darker out would I raise or lower the ISO. But with manual I can raise & lower it as I like (SS) so that's perfect! I love it.

Anyway I like this photo of her a lot because she's my niece and she's too cute. I like the composition. I try for rule of thirds when I crop but often get told I need to work on composition. Only to get it perfectly placed on her eye I'd have to crop a hand or the top of the head etc .. so I just place it right over her face/body.

I see the sand box and sidewalk behind her is overexposed some. I also see that the horizon line of the bushes in the way way back goes across her head and it goes up to the right corner while the line at the bottom goes down so it seems tilted, but it's actually just the curves of the land.

So what can I do to make it better. Thank you!

0.004 sec (1/250)

f/2.8

50 mm

100

Exposure
Aperture
Focal Length
ISO Speed

1.

parkplay by lifebyme, on Flickr

 

[C_mo]

I think having her off to the side a little makes the photo look awkward, you could have had her closer to the center IMO (but I'm a noob). The space off to the right has no real purpose, and all it really looks like is over exposed sidewalk (as you pointed out). Other than that, she is adorable Those pig tails are so cute!

 

[fortinw]

Exposure looks good, but I'm not sure about the empty space on the right side of the frame. I think since her face occupies the top 1/3 of the frame, placing her in the center would be better balanced.

 

[Shadowbox]

I'm trying to use rule of thirds more because I often break it, to me it looks awkward in that sense but I am told in C&C that I need to follow it 'most of the time'. I like having a main subject with space to the side, but most people don't like that in my photos. lol. So I am going to try a crop based on your suggestions and see. Thanks

 

[C_mo]

since you shot it vertically, you would already be obeying the rule of thirds, since her face is in the top 'third' of the picture... I think. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong

 

[Shadowbox]

Cropped based on suggestions:

parkplay2 by lifebyme, on Flickr

Here is the non-cropped, maybe someone can crop it for me how they think it would look better. If not that is okay too.

parkplay3 (1 of 1) by lifebyme, on Flickr

 

[Shadowbox]

I actually didn't shoot this photo vertically, though others in the swing I did haha.. I'm really bad about shooting horizontal a lot.

 

[C_mo]

lol me too. I find it easier to shoot horizontally with my son because he's always moving and I'm always trying to get him to look a certain way, or trying to get around him, and holding the camera on it's side is a PITA.

I think the composition in the new crop looks a lot nicer

 

[Shadowbox]

I know! I don't have kids myself but I am around little ones often and they are the most challenging for me. So it is good practice because it forces me to be patient and wait for the perfect shot or I end up with 500 blurry photos. They are just SO fast. Anyone who hasn't been around children just doesn't seem to get that, they are on the move constantly. Being in a swinging swing is actually still for them lol.

Your son is cute!

I like the new crop better too, thanks for the suggestions everyone.

 

[fortinw]

Cropped based on suggestions:

parkplay2 by lifebyme, on Flickr

Here is the non-cropped, maybe someone can crop it for me how they think it would look better. If not that is okay too.

parkplay3 (1 of 1) by lifebyme, on Flickr

I think the new crop works better for two reasons, first, the main focal point (her face) is in the top 1/3 of the frame (rule of thirds followed). Second, the lines of the swing's chains draw your eye into the subject. When that "V" was offset, it looked awkward. The "rule of thirds" is just a guideline to keep in mind, sometimes smack in the middle works best, reflections for instance. Composition is a tricky beast, one size does not fit all! Experiment and study other's photos that you like to get a sense of what works when.

 

[Paulaj100]

I also think the new crop looks better and think that without it the background is distracting.
Your niece is super cute btw!

 

[GooniesNeverSayDie11]

The centered shot is better. You should have shot vertical to begin with though, that's the main lesson to be learned here. You would have to do less cropping that way. Also, it looks a tad soft to my eyes. Other than that its a nice shot.

 

[dxqcanada5]

As you are thinking about the Rule of Thirds in this shot ... consider that her face is the primary subject, body, and swing are secondary.

Remember that you have some control over what's in the background by what angle the camera is at ... try a lower perspective to eliminate the side walk ... or even shooting from the side. You do have a digital camera, so you are not wasting film by taking the same subject in different ways ... you can always delete.

Think about the composition before you take the shot, this will make you a better photographer.
Too many Digital photographers shoot first then compensate using post processing.
Think like us Film shooters ... the shot has be right from the start before pressing that shutter button.

 

[The_Traveler]

I don't think the rules of thirds is compulsory, its more of an advisory to guide the user because people see things in certain ways.
IMO, the nice thing about this picture is the essential symmetry of the shot, and this becomes more obvious as it is cropped.
So, if you force the eyes to the thirds, it looks a little cramped at the top and the bottom.
I would take advantage of the symmetry and position her in the frame that way and becomes pleasing to, at least, my eyes.

The other thing that bothers me is the darkness in her eye sockets and the blurriness of her eyebrows that reinforces that.
I would edit to fix both of those things.

 

[Shadowbox]

Thanks for the advice!

I was thinking about it fully when shooting. I never don't think. I took from MANY angles but remember she was in a swinging swing & I have not yet perfected focus on movement ,so only very few of the shots actually came out without any blur. I noticed it is definitely soft, but it's not as soft as the others and I like the symmetry too which is why I choose this one for editing. Maybe I will find one from a different perspective so as not to have the distracting background. I do think about rule of thirds when shooting but since I tend to have very tight crops I was taught to shoot with a lot of space & then crop in so that I don't end up with chopped feet/fingers/heads.

Okay I didn't even notice the darkness until you pointed it out, good catch! Thank you. So now I am excited to go back and look through the photos again!