My beautiful grand daughter at 16 months old

[mvetrano2]

Canon 6d at 1/90, Canon 50mm f/1.4 at 1.5, ISO 800 natural room light.

 

[The_Traveler]

When you post pictures identifying the subject as 'my beloved' someone or 'my favorite' something else, the general reaction by viewers who want to take care of you and make you feel good is to ignore any defects in the image in favor of flattering comments about the subject.
I am a cranky misanthrope and don't care about anything but photos so take what I say with however many grains of salt as needed.

This is a very sweet memory shot but it misses in a bunch of ways as a photo.

There is no place where it is actually in focus; some of that is due to the shallow depth of field at 1.8 (look at DOFMASTER.com) and some is camera movement. With the 6D you can shoot at a much higher ISO and still get clean shots. That will give you higher shutter speed and/or greater DOF.

You've shot this relatively close in landscape aspect thus chopping off her hands; turning the camera to portrait aspect and backing off a bit will allow including her hands and would leave out the semi-useless stuff at the sides.

Typically shooting down at children doesn't work as well as getting down at their level. This is particularly a problem with shallow DOF where the eyes may be the only part of the face in focus and both the hair and the lower face and body are pretty fuzzy.

L

 

[tirediron]

Lew has pretty much nailed it - remember, none of us have any emotional investment in the image, and as photographers, our natural tendency is to notice flaws. As a precious family memory it's a winner all day long, but as a photograph or portrait...

Now, that said, how about a do-over; use Lew's excellent advice and work on an image that will be both a precious family memory AND a great portrait!

 

[mvetrano2]

I thank you both for your excellent observations and comments. I will try and retake the shot again (if she will stay still long enough) and certainly take into consideration your suggestions.

 

[tirediron]

I thank you both for your excellent observations and comments. I will try and retake the shot again (if she will stay still long enough) and certainly take into consideration your suggestions.

The child photographer's best friend!

 

[hamlet]

That's a pretty good picture.