Would love some C&C on a toddler photo, please

[MorningStarNicole]

She's 2, so posing isn't really an option- I just have to follow her around and hope for the best, for the most part. I think our lighting was great this day and it's amazing how much better my photos are on an overcast day ;-)

 

[ang1995]

It looks like she has a big bruise on her arm

 

[MorningStarNicole]

It looks like she has a big bruise on her arm

Yeah, she does... she's a clumsy little thing!

 

[jwbryson1]

I think this photo is okay. My few criticisms would be that it appears a little overexposed on my monitor, particularly the background, and as a result the subject blends in a bit too much with the background and doesn't "stand out" as much as I would prefer. Perhaps a bit shallower DOF (or if she was standing a bit further away from the background) would increase the bokeh and the background be a little less busy as well. There also appears to be a small whitish branch coming right down on top of her head but it almost looks like her hair is sticking up. I think the focus looks pretty good overall. The skin tones on the left half of her face are a bit orange but very mildly so. Overall, I like it.

 

[KmH]

So cute. Unfortunately she's kind of lost in the background, because of similar colors and poor lighting separation.

 

[c.cloudwalker]

So cute. Unfortunately she's kind of lost in the background, because of similar colors and poor lighting separation.

+1


You should have made the background darker.

 

[MorningStarNicole]

So cute. Unfortunately she's kind of lost in the background, because of similar colors and poor lighting separation.

Thanks. We're in such a drought, all of our "greenery" is brown!

 

[tirediron]

You could try 'faking it' by creating two layers; one the child and the other the background and working with them independantly.

 

[clanthar]

Hi,

I agree some background separation would help as well as tone and color adjustment for the toddler -- adorable!

I pushed pretty hard on the background maybe past the point of believability, but thought it was worth doing for the example.

Joe

 

[Derrel]

The biggest problem I have with the photo is the way the upper left corner is light-colored sky...that is a very powerful location in a photo...the sky is exerting a tremendous amount of visual "pull"...as the old art shorthand states, "light advances, dark recedes." Maybe you could clone in some faked foliage in the upper left hand corner...otherwise, the eye is going to want to continually stray, right up to that ULC.

 

[shootermcgavin]

Clanthar got it, I'd photo shop out the bruise though,lighten up the dark spot under the chin a tad, and maybe the one dead twig above her head. Otherwise great kid shot, they're hard!

 

[mwdoher]

The biggest problem I have with the photo is the way the upper left corner is light-colored sky...that is a very powerful location in a photo...the sky is exerting a tremendous amount of visual "pull"...as the old art shorthand states, "light advances, dark recedes." Maybe you could clone in some faked foliage in the upper left hand corner...otherwise, the eye is going to want to continually stray, right up to that ULC.

So right about the wandering eye, and it didn't become apparent to me until I read your this response... "My eye DID go there!" Totally good call.

 

[SteffJay]

First of all, the photo is beautiful. I agree with most of the technical criticisms about exposure, but I really like this photo.

As far as shoots with toddlers go, here's my two cents: I worked for a childrens portrait company for some time (your basic cookie cutter photography... nothing exciting), but one thing that I learned is how to deal with small kids to get the best out of them. A) Whenever possible, use a tripod. It makes it so much easier to get the kids focus when you dont have to worry about constantly moving the camera to frame them. B) To keep them in the frame you already set, it's all about the art of distraction. I've learned throwing stuffed animals in the air and fake sneezing really does the trick, at least for a few seconds at a time, and really, a few seconds is all you need, because C) You have to move fast. You can get their attention, no problem, but you can't alway keep it. Snap about ten times the frames you would if you were shooting adult models.

I hope any of this helps with future toddler sessions!