Looking for feedback

[Dinardy]

I took this picture today. It was a warm summer day on my parents backyard lawn, she was loving it as we don't have a yard of this size at our own place. She found one of our old softballs and wouldn't let it go. Her name is Aria. Let me know what you guys like, don't like or what you would have done different. I feel like I should tweak the saturation or hues but I don't know

 

[Light Guru]

With kids it's best to get down to their eye level, doing so will will help the viewer connect more with the subject.

The Firestone feels like your practically standing on top of the kid.

 

[Dinardy]

With kids it's best to get down to their eye level, doing so will will help the viewer connect more with the subject.

The Firestone feels like your practically standing on top of the kid.

Well I do normally get down on my stomach while I'm shooting her... I just ran over to snap a few proud father pics. As far as lighting goes do you have any gripes?

Here's another, she was being shy

 

[Dinardy]

Bump for some input...?

 

[ShooterJ]

The white balance is off in #1.. you could warm that shot up a bit (but as stated already, get down lower to shoot). The same white balance issue is present in that third photo you posted in your reply.

#2.. Wonderful eyes! But again, get down lower for the shot. With this, from eye level and some selective focus it would have been a really nice shot of the kiddo.

 

[Dinardy]

The white balance is off in #1.. you could warm that shot up a bit (but as stated already, get down lower to shoot). The same white balance issue is present in that third photo you posted in your reply.

#2.. Wonderful eyes! But again, get down lower for the shot. With this, from eye level and some selective focus it would have been a really nice shot of the kiddo.

Exactly what I was looking for, thank you for the pointers ShooterJ I'll adjust them accordingly.
Its funny I do normally get down on my stomach or knees for shots of the kids, but a recent crash while trail riding has left me a bit stiff in the leg

 

[ShooterJ]

No problem.. and I hear you. I'm nursing cracked ribs at the moment, so I haven't been bouncing around taking a lot of photos. hehehe

Cute kids though, golden opportunities for some shots. I think your lighting, white balance, etc. was ok in #2 and the cake really adds to it. As a dad I'm sure it's a keeper for you anyway.. but you'll love the results you get when you change up your angles and simplify your shots (things like selective focus to blur out the back).

EDIT: You might also take a look at this thread. A lot of good information was posted by members regarding shooting kids. Give that a read.. cgipson1 included a link to some lighting tools you could check out too.

http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/people-photography/332081-advice-shooting-kids-sounds-bad.html

 

[Dinardy]

No problem.. and I hear you. I'm nursing cracked ribs at the moment, so I haven't been bouncing around taking a lot of photos. hehehe

Cute kids though, golden opportunities for some shots. I think your lighting, white balance, etc. was ok in #3 and the cake really adds to it. As a dad I'm sure it's a keeper for you anyway.. but you'll love the results you get when you change up your angles and simplify your shots (things like selective focus to blur out the back).

Ouchh, Haven't cracked a rib in awhile...
By selective focus do you just mean opening up the aperture for a more shallow DoF? Is there an effective post production technique that looks natural?

I apologize for the multiple questions

 

[ShooterJ]

No problem.. and I hear you. I'm nursing cracked ribs at the moment, so I haven't been bouncing around taking a lot of photos. hehehe

Cute kids though, golden opportunities for some shots. I think your lighting, white balance, etc. was ok in #3 and the cake really adds to it. As a dad I'm sure it's a keeper for you anyway.. but you'll love the results you get when you change up your angles and simplify your shots (things like selective focus to blur out the back).

Ouchh, Haven't cracked a rib in awhile...
By selective focus do you just mean opening up the aperture for a more shallow DoF? Is there an effective post production technique that looks natural?

I apologize for the multiple questions

No apology necessary, that's what this forum is for. And yes, opening up your aperture to get a more shallow DoF is exactly it. You CAN create the effect in Photoshop if you understand how to work with layers. But once you get the hang of just opening up your aperture, it's pretty easy to adjust on the fly when you're shooting.

Spend some time taking shots and practicing with selective focus (shallow depth of field).. even if you're just shooting the odd object here and there. Experimenting and seeing what you can do with it will teach you a lot about what kind of effect your selected aperture is going to have on a subject and the background.

 

[Dinardy]

No problem.. and I hear you. I'm nursing cracked ribs at the moment, so I haven't been bouncing around taking a lot of photos. hehehe

Cute kids though, golden opportunities for some shots. I think your lighting, white balance, etc. was ok in #3 and the cake really adds to it. As a dad I'm sure it's a keeper for you anyway.. but you'll love the results you get when you change up your angles and simplify your shots (things like selective focus to blur out the back).

Ouchh, Haven't cracked a rib in awhile...
By selective focus do you just mean opening up the aperture for a more shallow DoF? Is there an effective post production technique that looks natural?

I apologize for the multiple questions

No apology necessary, that's what this forum is for. And yes, opening up your aperture to get a more shallow DoF is exactly it. You CAN create the effect in Photoshop if you understand how to work with layers. But once you get the hang of just opening up your aperture, it's pretty easy to adjust on the fly when you're shooting.

Spend some time taking shots and practicing with selective focus (shallow depth of field).. even if you're just shooting the odd object here and there. Experimenting and seeing what you can do with it will teach you a lot about what kind of effect your selected aperture is going to have on a subject and the background.

Thank you!

 

[ShooterJ]

Also keep in mind that the distance between subject/background has an impact on the effect as well. The greater distance, the more pronounced that background blur is going to be.

This was my last posted photo and the distance behind her was longer so it had a larger impact than if I'd shot her against a tree/wall just a few feet away.

Sophie - The Photo Forum Photo Gallery

 

[Dinardy]

Also keep in mind that the distance between subject/background has an impact on the effect as well. The greater distance, the more pronounced that background blur is going to be.

This was my last posted photo and the distance behind her was longer so it had a larger impact than if I'd shot her against a tree/wall just a few feet away.

Sophie - The Photo Forum Photo Gallery

Those eyes slightly resemble the eye of Mordor lol, cool looking pup.
Thats one thing about selective focus I was not totally sure on.
So preferably for portraits, you want your subject a fair distance away from a potentially distracting background.

 

[ShooterJ]

Yes.. the more distance you have, the greater the impact and the less distracting it will be. Once you start playing around with it and getting a feel for what distance does for you, it'll be pretty easy for you to do/judge.

EDIT: If distance isn't an option, then you can also look to change your angle a bit to remove background distractions. But the general idea, whether you look for a clean background or you use a shallow DoF to kill it, is that you want to simplify it and really put the focus/emphasis on the subject. If it's part of the shot and important to the theme (like the cake) no big deal.. if it doesn't serve any purpose in the photo, look for ways to eliminate it.

 

[Dinardy]

Yes.. the more distance you have, the greater the impact and the less distracting it will be. Once you start playing around with it and getting a feel for what distance does for you, it'll be pretty easy for you to do/judge.

EDIT: If distance isn't an option, then you can also look to change your angle a bit to remove background distractions. But the general idea, whether you look for a clean background or you use a shallow DoF to kill it, is that you want to simplify it and really put the focus/emphasis on the subject. If it's part of the shot and important to the theme (like the cake) no big deal.. if it doesn't serve any purpose in the photo, look for ways to eliminate it.

Perfect.
Thank you again ShooterJ you have put a lot of emphasis and faith into why I joined this forum in the first place.

 

[ShooterJ]

You're welcome.. I'm by no means a pro, I'm just in school for photography. But there are some VERY skilled photographers on this site. Don't let anything bum you out.. you'll get a lot of good and valuable feedback here.