My Daughter

[Lol999]

Okay, it's time to break my duck and post a picture. This is one of my daughter taken a few weeks ago. She's 15 and thoroughly fed up with her oild man photographing her! I got her near the window as I wanted soft autumn light and used my Nikkor 28 f3.5 wide open (just to try out the new lens:mrgreen: ). i know the background isn't the best but I really like the expression and the perspective seems to sum up her mood at the time. Bear in mind this is a scan of a print so it won't be the sharpest. Opinions?

Lol

 

[Pax]

She's a pretty girl. I like the softness of the image, her expression is great! I just wish I could see her other eye, too.
The background bothers me not, it's rather the ceiling that distracts my eyes a bit. But other than that I think it's perfect!

 

[LaFoto]

Ah well... our daughters. So lovely "models", yet so fed up with their photographing parents' wishes for yet another photo, right? Don't I know it only too well?

She is so pretty she should LOVE to get her picture taken, but I think the same about my daughter and she, too, hates it - especially if I want to take a whole "session" with her :roll:

Since we are to take this as a test photo, I don't mind the background too much, since it is the natural window light you wanted in it, and the shallow DOF of the wide aperture of your new (?) lens, which blurs it some, but who does bother me in the frame is the person on the right. But a quick crop can do wonders here. And if you crop in from the right and still want to go with a custom size photo, you have then given yourself the option to crop off the ceiling and voilà, your photo will be all the more pleasing!

(My daughter is to be seen under "A Girl" in this very forum and in the Photo Themes "Photo Assigment of the Week 30 - High Key")

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[Lol999]

To be honest I have thought about having a selective print done losing much of the backgroundand ceiling. This was taken on a busy Saturday morning, the postie having just delivered my "new to me" lens from a guy on E-Bay. I think, seeing as I am about 6 inches taller than her, a slightly lower viewpoint might have helped and would have the bonus of losing some of the ceiling.


Lol

 

[Lol999]

This is a cropped version done in PSP. Any better?

 

[LaFoto]

Yes. Much better, I say.
And ChristiePhoto's critique about my newest portrait of my own daughter ("A Girl") was that my camera was too low and I showed a bit of her nostrils, so I think this is a much better viewpoint actually for portrait photography. (I had to make use of my tiny, tiny tripod - easily goes in any pocket, is, however, too dangerous to be taken on board a plane since it is a potential weapon with its telescope legs ... leglets, actually...:roll: - and could only place it on our low living room table, hence my too low viewpoint...)

 

[Lol999]

In retrospect I think your'e right on the viewpoint issue. The height difference illustrates her mood of isolated defiance. Thanks for your input.

 

[Big Mike]

The cropped version is much better. The pose, the light & the model are all very good. I think it needs more contrast and a little bit of sharpening. It doesn't look like it scanned very well.

 

[Lol999]

That's because I have a pants scanner:mrgreen: My printer isn't up to much either hence I won't be joining in the print exchange!

 

[mentos_007]

yes! much better now - cropped! maybe you'll try b&w here???

 

[Lol999]

This is one of my first photos for 18 years! I'm not ready for b&w film but this is what PSP makes of it

 

[craig]

Good shot! Natural to say the least. She has a kind of Mona Lisa that is amazing. Critically the background is tough in that it looks like something is coming out her ear. The light and shape of her face is nice. I would accentuate that with some tighter face shots. Maybe try some where her hair is not in her face.

 

[Lol999]

What's unnatural about an elliptical trainer handlebar coming out of someone's ear?:mrgreen: To be honest it was very much a spur of the moment shot, rather than a posed thing. I'm undecided about seeing the whole of her left/right eye. If I had taken the time to compose thoroughly and had her move her hair I think the whole expression and mood would have been lost. I was also just curious about the use of a 28mm for portrait shots as I had never done it before so it was a learning experience really. I guess the skill would be in recreating the mood of my daughter in more controlled environment. Tough one. She's about as predictable as the weather:mrgreen:

 

[elsaspet]

I love the black and white you did. It's beautiful. I agree about the Mona Lisa look.

 

[terri]

I totally agree about the angle. She is looking up into the camera with that very expressive face. :thumbup: I think the tighter crop works best, as well.

Hopefully she'll let you try some more, now that you know how you want to approach it. You'll be able to think more about background clutter than you have a chance to when shooting spur of the moment like this.