New to photography: Portrait critique please

[paigew]

What exactly are you trying to do? Lighten the dark circles?


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[NickChurch]

Yes, exactly. to achieve a similar result to the image provided midway through this thread.
thanks in advance
nick

 

[paigew]

You will get better results in PS but LR can get you a decent fix.

 

[paigew]

If you upgrade to LR5 you can fix it even better by using the spot healing brush

 

[Braineack]

shooting with a light source helps too...

 

[NickChurch]

Wow! that certainly did the trick! OK, I'll have a go myself. Thanks so much for taking the time to do that.

 

[NickChurch]

I have limited kit at the moment, and no flashes at all. I will get some more kit soon, but at the moment, one step at a time

 

[AlanKlein]

Cute kid: I like the second shot. His eyes are both in focus, The first the focus is on the back eye. Always better on the front eye, best if both eyes are in focus. That green thing on the bottom should be cropped out. It distracts from the portrait. The tree isn't needed either. Center his nose horizontally with his eyes about a third from the top.

 

[paigew]

You don't need a light necessarily. Just better light. I only use my flash when there is no light. Wedding receptions mainly.

 

[NickChurch]

Hi All,

All advice taken and I now have this... is this better?