girls playing... need feedback

[kitkatdubs]

i took some pictures for a friend and i loved this photo. however, i am wondering if the girl in pink looks blurry? i want general feedback if this is good enough to give to her or should i trash it? i love it but it just doesn't seem crystal clear. all the photos i shot of the girls on the grass with the sun in the background, see to be washed out... thanks.

 

[Designer]

Of course, this is a snapshot, and if you think your friend will appreciate a snapshot of the children, then sure. If you expect someone to pay you for this, maybe not so much.

Backlighting is not easy, particularly if the photographer has not planned for backlight, and simply took a picture as if the subject was front lighted. This is the reason your photos look "washed out".

If one of the girls looks blurry, I will guess that your shutter speed was too "slow" to capture the movement without blur. Unfortunately, I was not able to read the EXIF, as it seems to have been stripped from this file.

Additionally, since both children are "vertical", and the background is nothing special, you probably should have grabbed this snap in portrait (vertical) format.

 

[kitkatdubs]

Of course, this is a snapshot, and if you think your friend will appreciate a snapshot of the children, then sure. If you expect someone to pay you for this, maybe not so much.

Backlighting is not easy, particularly if the photographer has not planned for backlight, and simply took a picture as if the subject was front lighted. This is the reason your photos look "washed out".

If one of the girls looks blurry, I will guess that your shutter speed was too "slow" to capture the movement without blur. Unfortunately, I was not able to read the EXIF, as it seems to have been stripped from this file.

Additionally, since both children are "vertical", and the background is nothing special, you probably should have grabbed this snap in portrait (vertical) format.

you said backlighting is not easy... so how would i have made sure they weren't washed out?? the settings i used were ISO 250, f/4 1/800 shot with a 24mm lens. trying to figure out where i went wrong?

 

[Designer]

I think you would meter for the near (shade) side of the models. The camera probably metered for the entire scene and averaged it. How was the meter set?

Some reading:

Understanding Camera Metering and Exposure

Backlighting and Subject Colour

Backlighting is a whole new skill set. Help please and thank-you.

 

[kitkatdubs]

I think you would meter for the near (shade) side of the models. The camera probably metered for the entire scene and averaged it. How was the meter set?

Some reading:

Understanding Camera Metering and Exposure

Backlighting and Subject Colour

Backlighting is a whole new skill set. Help please and thank-you.

thanks for the links... is there a way to see after the shot is taken in like photoshop where the meter was set? i believe i probably metered the red dot on her face.

 

[Designer]

Personally, I would not know anything about Photoshop, as I have never used it. You might be able to glean some information about the metering mode by looking at the EXIF.

 

[cornetlord]

In Windows if you right click the file and choose properties it will show you the EXIF. This is an easy mistake to fix just by changing your metering mode if you have the RAW images you may be able drop the highlights a bit and recover this some.

 

[Derrel]

It is a very fine photo of the two girls playing in the yard. it is back-lighted, and so the older girl's face is a bit lower in contrast than the lower parts of the image: this is an expected and NOT unwelcome effect of shooting directly into the light. The French call this contre- jour, or "against the light" or "against daylight"...this is an entire sub-genre of photography!!!

The slight loss of contrast is expected!!! You should not, I repeat should not, expect that this type of image to always be 100% free of flare or loss of contrast!!! Of course this image is perfectly fine. The parents will be thrilled with this photo. The idea of trashing this is absolutely preposterous. You could deliberately reduce the clarity of this image, which would make it look more-flarey, more against the light, more backlighted, and it would look less "sharp", and probably actually better, more pictorialist, more impressionistic, and better. At least to a person with well defined visual sensibilities.

Always keep in mind--family members and friends evaluate images of their loved ones NOT based on technical values, but on expression, likeness, and situation. This is a charming shot. I can guarantee you, this picture will be well-received by the parents and grandparents. The idea of trashing this is painful.

 

[sleist]

This is a photo that will be loved by the people that care about these girls.
I rarely delete a photo of my kids or grand kids..

Give it to them and let them decide what to do with it.
One never knows how or why something becomes special.