My son Owen... Knocked out after a hard day at the pool and the park...

[michael9000000]

50 mm, f/1.8, 1/100 sec, ISO 1600

It was a dark room... Just cracks of light through the curtains covering two windows...

C&C are always welcome!

 

[Mach0]

I think you could have stopped the lens down some to get more on focus. You would have had to keep your hand steady but it's possible. Otherwise, cute kid.

 

[michael9000000]

I think you could have stopped the lens down some to get more on focus. You would have had to keep your hand steady but it's possible. Otherwise, cute kid.

I understand what you're saying, but the best I could've hoped for was f/2.2 at 1/60 of a second. I had to lay on my belly on the mattress is on front of him to get the shot. I didn't really have many options for steadying the hand-held shot, so I opted for f/1.8 and a comfortably fast shutter speed for clarity's sake. I'm not convinced that the slightly smaller aperture would've made any noticeable difference in DOF anyway. ISO 3200 is much too grainy for my taste, especially for such low lighting. Thanks for the input though, and thanks for complimenting my son.

 

[The_Traveler]

Not as good an angle as possible.
You should have scooched down the mattress some and get his face close to full on (rathe than the view from above his head)
The lover the light a bit to create the mood.

 

[michael9000000]

Not as good an angle as possible.
You should have scooched down the mattress some and get his face close to full on (rathe than the view from above his head)
The lover the light a bit to create the mood.

Honestly, I'm not sure what you're talking about. The photo was taken full on, not from above his head. I don't see how you arrived at any other conclusion. I was using my 50mm prime, so I was scooched very close to his face... I would guess I was no more than 30 inches away. As far as lighting and mood... I'm assuming your last sentence had a typo and was supposed to say something like "Then lower the light to create the mood."

In my original post, I stated that it was a 50mm shot, f/1.8, ISO 1600, 1/100 sec. That should indicate to you that I was working in VERY low light already. Anything darker would've resulted in excessive graininess from a higher ISO.

What kind of mood do you think I should try to create? That part of your critique confused me. This is a photo of my 4 year old son sleeping.

 

[Mach0]

I understand what you're saying, but the best I could've hoped for was f/2.2 at 1/60 of a second. I had to lay on my belly on the mattress is on front of him to get the shot. I didn't really have many options for steadying the hand-held shot, so I opted for f/1.8 and a comfortably fast shutter speed for clarity's sake. I'm not convinced that the slightly smaller aperture would've made any noticeable difference in DOF anyway. ISO 3200 is much too grainy for my taste, especially for such low lighting. Thanks for the input though, and thanks for complimenting my son.

What camera are you using? Reason I ask, if you ETR a little, bring it back in post, and a slight NR, you might be in the clear.

 

[michael9000000]

What camera are you using? Reason I ask, if you ETR a little, bring it back in post, and a slight NR, you might be in the clear.

I shot this photo with my Canon EOS t1i. I know that NR means Noise Reduction, but I'm not familiar with what the abbreviation ETR. Would you explain please? Thanks.

 

[Mach0]

I shot this photo with my Canon EOS t1i. I know that NR means Noise Reduction, but I'm not familiar with what the abbreviation ETR. Would you explain please? Thanks.

Exposing to the right. Slightly over exposing then bringing it back down in post. It helps. I don't have too much knowledge of canon's line up so I would not be of any help with how well the t1i handles noise at higher iso.

 

[michael9000000]

Exposing to the right. Slightly over exposing then bringing it back down in post. It helps. I don't have too much knowledge of canon's line up so I would not be of any help with how well the t1i handles noise at higher iso.

I appreciate your advice. Unfortunately for me, over-exposure would've required a slower shutter speed or ISO 3200. My 50 mm 1.8 is the fastest lens I own, so a slower shutter speed under those shooting conditions would've brought me back to the problem of camera steadiness/motion blur. I've found that the t1i performs poorly at ISO 3200. I think that even with NR in post-production, the graininess would've been unacceptable for anything more than a thumbnail image or proof sheet/wallet size print.

 

[Mach0]

I appreciate your advice. Unfortunately for me, over-exposure would've required a slower shutter speed or ISO 3200. My 50 mm 1.8 is the fastest lens I own, so a slower shutter speed under those shooting conditions would've brought me back to the problem of camera steadiness/motion blur. I've found that the t1i performs poorly at ISO 3200. I think that even with NR in post-production, the graininess would've been unacceptable for anything more than a thumbnail image or proof sheet/wallet size print.

There's different ways of holding the camera. Just takes practice. The slowest I have taken a pic handheld Is 1/13s with exceptionally clean results( of my daughter sleeping lol). Of course, my camera is gripped as well. One way I like to shoot handheld when it's very poorly lit, my subject isn't moving, and I wish not to use a flash, I place my left hand under the lens rested on something ( bed for a sleeping shot, table, etc) or place my elbow onto my stomach. It helps stabilize the camera. I understand the noise issue. My old d3000 sucks 800 and above. I almost always tried to use flash but I just decided to get a body that can handle it if I decided to use it.

 

[The_Traveler]

Not as good an angle as possible.
You should have scooched down the mattress some and get his face close to full on (rathe than the view from above his head)
The lover the light a bit to create the mood.

Honestly, I'm not sure what you're talking about. The photo was taken full on, not from above his head. I don't see how you arrived at any other conclusion. I was using my 50mm prime, so I was scooched very close to his face... I would guess I was no more than 30 inches away. As far as lighting and mood... I'm assuming your last sentence had a typo and was supposed to say something like "Then lower the light to create the mood."

In my original post, I stated that it was a 50mm shot, f/1.8, ISO 1600, 1/100 sec. That should indicate to you that I was working in VERY low light already. Anything darker would've resulted in excessive graininess from a higher ISO.

What kind of mood do you think I should try to create? That part of your critique confused me. This is a photo of my 4 year old son sleeping.

This diagram shows what I mean.
You were shooting from an angle 'above' his face (actually to the right of his face since he was lying down.) SO we don't get his face full on.
The picture is bright and doesn't fit with the idea of a child sleeping.
You could have supported the camera on the bed and comfortably shot at 1/30 or 1/15 and with the change in angle and the increased DOF, more of his face would be in focus so that the OOF hair on his forehead wouldn't bother.
Decreasing the brightness (-.43) reduces the impression of a bright room.

 

[gopal]

well captured and good skin tone....I am afraid, going more low wudn't hide his nose/lips?

 

[michael9000000]

This diagram shows what I mean.
You were shooting from an angle 'above' his face (actually to the right of his face since he was lying down.) SO we don't get his face full on.
The picture is bright and doesn't fit with the idea of a child sleeping.
You could have supported the camera on the bed and comfortably shot at 1/30 or 1/15 and with the change in angle and the increased DOF, more of his face would be in focus so that the OOF hair on his forehead wouldn't bother.
Decreasing the brightness (-.43) reduces the impression of a bright room.

<img src="http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=9834"/><img src="http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=9833"/>

Um... I see your diagram, but your perception of how this photo was taken is off the mark... It's not a big deal and I'm not looking for an argument. Thanks for the C&C.

 

[michael9000000]

well captured and good skin tone....I am afraid, going more low wudn't hide his nose/lips?

Exactly... Thanks for the kind words...

 

[Juice]

This diagram shows what I mean.
You were shooting from an angle 'above' his face (actually to the right of his face since he was lying down.) SO we don't get his face full on.
The picture is bright and doesn't fit with the idea of a child sleeping.
You could have supported the camera on the bed and comfortably shot at 1/30 or 1/15 and with the change in angle and the increased DOF, more of his face would be in focus so that the OOF hair on his forehead wouldn't bother.
Decreasing the brightness (-.43) reduces the impression of a bright room.

<img src="http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/attachments/people-photography/9834-my-son-owen-knocked-out-after-hard-day-pool-park-heads.jpg"/><img src="http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/attachments/people-photography/9833-my-son-owen-knocked-out-after-hard-day-pool-park-img_2031lll.jpg"/>

Um... I see your diagram, but your perception of how this photo was taken is off the mark... It's not a big deal and I'm not looking for an argument. Thanks for the C&C.

Traveler is right. Try being a little less closed minded and you'll start seeing progress. Disagreeing and finding excuses about why your photo is perfect and how everyone's advice is wrong isn't going to get you better photos. I think there is a lot of potential in this photo, you should use the advice given here and try a few different things to see how you can improve. However, if you're content with creating average work, then by all means, have at it. :thumbup: