Trying out my new D600 with my baby girl as my guinea pig - missing something?

[emilypchappell]

I just got my D600 in this week. I'm using a 50 mm 1.8g lens and edit with Photoshop/Lightroom (specifically PS on this shot).

I've only been shooting for a few months, so I'd love some critique. I feel like something is missing on the post editing side?

Feel free to edit as long as you don't mind sharing your recipe.

Thanks so much!

 

[KmH]

Some fill lighting would have put more light in the child's eyes.

Fill light also helps separate the subject from the background, often called making your subject 'pop'.

An edit to illustrate what that might look like:

 

[KmH]

Oops! Here is my edit recipe:
I used ACR (CS 5 Camera Raw) to globally adjust the white balance, add a bit of capture sharpening and Clarity.
I used CS 5 to select the child and basket and saved the selection. With the selection active I duplicated the layer. I changed the layer blending mode to Screen and reduced the opacity of the layer to 30%.
I then flattened the image, retrieved the saved selection in Invert mode, and applied a neutral density Gradient from the top of the image to the mid-point of the basket. By inverting the selection, the gradient was applied to everything except the child/basket.
I then flattened the image again, duplicated the layer, selected the camera right portion of each eye white, saved those selections, made a Vibrance adjustment layer, and desaturated the selections.
I again flattened the image, retrieved the saved eye white selections, made an Exposure adjustment layer, and increased the exposure slightly. I then activated the Sharpening tool @ 30% and selectively sharpened the child's eyes, nostrils, and mouth. I then cropped so the child's left eye was on the crop's upper right ROT (rule of thirds) power point.
l again flattened the image, duplicated the background layer, and again retrieved the saved selection of the child/basket. On the new layer I boosted the mid-tone contrast of only the child/basket using Topaz Adjust, and reduced the opacity of that edit to 50%.
Lastly I added a thin black border to the image.

 

[OLaA]

Oops! Here is my edit recipe:
I used ACR (CS 5 Camera Raw) to globally adjust the white balance, add a bit of capture sharpening and Clarity.
I used CS 5 to select the child and basket and saved the selection. With the selection active I duplicated the layer. I changed the layer blending mode to Screen and reduced the opacity of the layer to 30%.
I then flattened the image, retrieved the saved selection in Invert mode, and applied a neutral density Gradient from the top of the image to the mid-point of the basket. By inverting the selection, the gradient was applied to everything except the child/basket.
I then flattened the image again, duplicated the layer, selected the camera right portion of each eye white, saved those selections, made a Vibrance adjustment layer, and desaturated the selections.
I again flattened the image, retrieved the saved eye white selections, made an Exposure adjustment layer, and increased he exposure slightly. I then activated the Sharpening tool @ 30% and selectively sharpened the child's eyes, nostrils, and mouth. I then cropped so the child's left eye was on the crops upper right ROT power point.
l again flattened the image, duplicated the background layer, and again retrieved the saved selection of the child/basket. On the new layer I boosted the mid-tone contrast of only the child/basket using Topaz Adjust, and reduced the opacity of that edit to 50%.
Lastly I added a thin black border to the image.

I like the extra pop your edit gave but to me it seems like the basket and child now look like they're composited in the scene. This could be me as I'm viewing on my phone.

 

[Qveon]

Or i might have seen what it looks like pulling some of the highlights out since her shirt is blown out, but if that was my daughter and i took that picture. It would be a 30x20 canvas on my wall

 

[KmH]

I like the extra pop your edit gave but to me it seems like the basket and child now look like they're composited in the scene. This could be me as I'm viewing on my phone.

That's why it's better to do it with supplemental lighting when the shutter is released. :thumbup:
I didn't use Refine Edge (feather) on the child/basket selection, so there wouldn't be any positive or negative halo. That is likely contributing to your impression, though a mobilephone screen may not be the best thing to use for evaluating images.

The point of the edit is to try and demonstrate better use of light. Available light photography is a lot harder than it sounds. In fact, using only available light generally requires more photographic lighting knowledge and lighting skill than using strobed light (flash) .

 

[Qveon]

I like the extra pop your edit gave but to me it seems like the basket and child now look like they're composited in the scene. This could be me as I'm viewing on my phone.

That's why it's better to do it with supplemental lighting when the shutter is released. :thumbup:
I didn't use Refine Edge (feather) on the child/basket selection, so there wouldn't be any positive or negative halo. That is likely contributing to your impression, though a mobilephone screen may not be the best thing to use for evaluating images.

The point of the edit is to try and demonstrate better use of light. Available light photography is a lot harder than it sounds. In fact, using only available light generally requires more photographic lighting knowledge and lighting skill than using strobed light (flash) .

Nope i got your back, your edit is clean.