Duaghter at Softball Game C&C

[MrRagu]

Back into the hobby after several years away. 1st shot with a new Tamron 70-200 f2.8. What do you think?

 

[adamwilliamking]

You couldn't ask for better focus.
Technically, centering the subject is frowned upon but the boken is pretty awesome so I don't mind it as much.

A smile would be nice but kids are kids.

 

[Big Mike]

She looks like she's thinking...'Dad, put away that camera'

 

[MrRagu]

I will admit, being an engineer, that the technical side of photography is my bent. So, artistry is a distant second. Hopefully, I can change that. But, why wouldn't you center the subject and what would have been better? As for the smile, she was "on deck" and I caught her just after a practice swing. So, she was really concentrating.

 

[Big Mike]

But, why wouldn't you center the subject and what would have been better?

Sometimes, a centred subject creates an image that is stagnant...meaning that the viewer's eye isn't free to roam the image and take it all in.
One guideline for composition is Rule of thirds - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
See also Golden ratio - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Now in this image, I don't mind that it's centered...but I do take issue with the space on either side of her head. Is that space adding to the image in a positive way? I don't really think so. Maybe try cropping the sides to make the image a 1:1 ratio (square). You would probably still have some of the nice out of focus areas but her head would fill the frame a lot more, which might really help the image.

Another way to look at it, would have been to take in more of the scene. Your 2nd post tells us that she was on-deck and so was concentrating on her upcoming at bat...but the image itself does not tell us that. If you actually showed enough of her surroundings that we could tell that for ourselves, then the image might 'tell a story'...rather than just being a portrait where the viewer wonders what the subject is doing/thinking.

 

[lisa_13]

i really love that she's in the middle. if you had off centered her, there wouldnt be anything more to see on the side, but more bokeh. the expression works great too, and the focus is PERFECT!

 

[MrRagu]

Here is another and it is subject centered.

 

[Big Mike]

In this one, there is lots of space above her head, yet you cut her off at the knees. Would it not have been better with less space above her head and showing the rest of her?
I would also suggest that it would look better to have more space in front of her (left side) and less behind her (right side).

 

[MrRagu]

In this one, there is lots of space above her head, yet you cut her off at the knees. Would it not have been better with less space above her head and showing the rest of her?
I would also suggest that it would look better to have more space in front of her (left side) and less behind her (right side).

Hey! I am getting better!! I knew somebody was going to comment on the void space above her head!

The camera with this lens is pretty new to me and the autofocus doesn't always do what I want it to do. I find myself going to manual a lot. I might try the autofocus on spot next time.

Thanks for all the feedback!
Mike

 

[fast1]

i prefer the second pic, captures the mood and emotion of the day

 

[Big Mike]

The camera with this lens is pretty new to me and the autofocus doesn't always do what I want it to do. I find myself going to manual a lot. I might try the autofocus on spot next time.

Sometimes where you are shooting, it's easy to fall into a habit of putting your subject in the centre to focus on, and just shoot it that way....but that is seldom the best composition. What I do, is set the camera to use only the centre AF point, but then I focus and recompose the shot. So in this example, I would start with the same composition as you have here and focus on her face, but then I would lock or deactivate the focus (I have moved the focus activation off of the shutter button), then I'd move the camera down to change the composition, then take the shot.
Another method would be to set one of the other AF points to be the only active one, then use that point to focus on the face and take the shot.