Child Pictures - C&C please!

~justsarah~ · May 6, 2009

With a Nikon D40, 50mm lens.
Be brutal! I'm really trying to learn. Thanks!!

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Samanax · May 6, 2009

Looks like the eyes aren't in focus in the first 2 shots.

3rd shot might work better if camera was at child's eye level and you could see what she's looking at and reaching for.

4th image looks soft.

5th image would work better if camera was at child's eye level.

6th shot would have been really good except it's slightly overexposed and the background is blown out...this might work better if you filled the frame with the child a little more...would make the child have more importance than the background. Image also looks soft.

I think I would have shot these at ISO 200 instead of ISO 400.

GeneralBenson · May 6, 2009

They pretty much all look soft/out of focus, and are severely lacking contrast, but the kids expressions are great. That's usually the hard part.

NateS · May 6, 2009

As said, you've missed focus on most of these.

1. Eyes are out of focus but the hair on her right (camera left) is in focus.

2. Eyes are out of focus but again...her hair on the sides of her head are in focus.

3. Eyes are out of focus, but her sleeve is in focus.

4. Not overly sharp, but again...the side of his head is more in focus than his eyes.

5. Better, but still missed focus a bit....less visible in this type of shot than in a close up.

6. This one is the worst on focus.

I understand that you are manually focusing....this is an obstacle you are going to have to try and overcome which is harder and harder the larger your aperture gets (the smaller f-stop).

Exposure looks pretty good on all of them except for backgrounds being blown out on most....that's something that I personally can't overcome easily without using some type of flash.

Edit: Oh, and keep it up. I really like your compositions in 1, 2, and 3, just nail the focus down and maybe brush up a tad on your post processing skills and I think you have a great start.

~justsarah~ · May 6, 2009

Thank you so much for all the thoughts! It's much better than my husband saying "They look great!"

I'll keep working on it.

Anyone else? Feel free to critique.

bdavis · May 6, 2009

I like the lighting on these, but they all seem a bit soft on focus and lacking a punch meaning they dont have enough contrast.

alarionov · May 6, 2009

I like #5. Looks like a regular model

Cute kid.

Nikon_Nyc · May 6, 2009

I concur with the general commenting, the first 4 images are coming across soft. They seem white washed, a slight adjustment in contrast or exposure would make a great deal of improvement. A few of these seem like they would work well in black and white. You got the hard part down though, you caught the expressions.

~justsarah~ · May 7, 2009

Thanks for the comments. I really want to keep using my 50mm, but can't seem to focus it well on the eyes. My kit lense (18-55) focuses well.

Am I stuck with that until camera upgrade? Is that my best bet?

Or does anyone ever perfect the manual focus? (ha)

NateS · May 7, 2009

~justsarah~ said:
Thanks for the comments. I really want to keep using my 50mm, but can't seem to focus it well on the eyes. My kit lense (18-55) focuses well.

Am I stuck with that until camera upgrade? Is that my best bet?

Or does anyone ever perfect the manual focus? (ha)

Well, you could get a new 50mm f1.4 AF-S which will focus on your D40....of course, for the price of that (500ish) and what you could sell your D40 for...you could about upgrade to a D90.

Another option is the Tamron 17-50 f2.8 (or sigma variant). Once I got my Tamron, I never even went back to the 50mm. The Tammy is really sharp, has incredible contrast and colors and is only around $450.....plus you get the zoom capabilities back which you lost with the 50mm. The 50 has it's place, but indoors with moving kids, you're really better off with a zoom lens and the Tammy hits the jackpot for a kit lens replacement.

I have actually sold my 50mm f1.8 since picking up my Tamron 17-50 f2.8. I'm sure there will be occassions where I wish I had f1.8...but those are usually indoors with less light....and those are the instances where I found the 50mm a little bit too long.

The Tamron (as long as you get a new one...some old ones don't...) has a built in motor for focusing on the D40/D60 series cameras. I honestly think that the D40 + Tamron 17-50 f2.8 would be a great combo for you based on what I've seen....D40 is no slouch with the right lens and in the right hands.

Link to the Tamron at B&H
Tamron | 17-50mm f/2.8 XR Di-II LD Aspherical | AF016NII-700