Critique Please

[RxForB3]

Definitely not got this whole portrait thing down yet, and these two weren't the most cooperative subjects. Any suggestions? Please be harsh and specific so I can learn!

1.


IMG_2201 by RxForB3, on Flickr

2.


IMG_2151 by RxForB3, on Flickr

3.


IMG_2148 by RxForB3, on Flickr

 

[PhillipM]

Not enough light in those eyes for me. Especially for the little girl.

If you want to "create" dynamic images of kids, you have to make them think your doing something very special and that you need their help. Keep the parents away from them asking them to smile, etc... They just slow things down. The little girls hair is a train wreck. You have to prevent that. If it's windy, have the mother / father tie the hair back. If that's not possible, move to a location out of the wind, or point her into the wind, to keep it out of her face.

But then remember. It really depends on YOUR VISION of the shots your wanting to "create".

 

[RxForB3]

Thank you very much for your suggestions, PhillipM. The boy is my own child and the girl is my babysitter's child. They might as well be brother/sister. So I'm struggling to get my son to do what I ask without making fake smiles. I'll definitely have to try your suggestion of making them think it's something very special that I need their help on. As for the girl's hair, I suppose that comes from not having the mother there with us, and me only having a son! But that's something I'll keep an eye out for next time. Though, I'm not very confident in my ability to fix a girl's hair

 

[RxForB3]

Oh, and by light, are you meaning a catch light, or the "sparkle" in the eyes?

 

[Patrice]

Not bad exposure, framing is a bit wide on the first one and I think there is a bit too much empty space on top of the young lad's head in the second. But those are only an opinion.

However I think you should reconsider your choice of lens. The rendering of the out of focus background is rather hard edged.

 

[The_Traveler]

You will not get sharp images and stop action

until you control your camera setting.

Never shoot below 1/focal length x 1.6 (for crop frame cameras)
Why shoot at such low exif?
Why shoot at such a wide aperture and thus tiny DOF?