portrate pic

[twinkle]

my first post in here, scared of puttng pics in here :laugh:

any way, i got this pic of my little girl, and to me its one of the best portrae pics i have got. so please tell me what you think, and what i could do to improve it?

thanks :thumbsup:

http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q3/Picture 087.jpg

[Shoney]

my first post in here, scared of puttng pics in here :laugh:

any way, i got this pic of my little girl, and to me its one of the best portrae pics i have got. so please tell me what you think, and what i could do to improve it?

thanks :thumbsup:

http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q3/Picture%20087.jpg

Can I have a play? Then I can tell you want I did and you can do it yourself =)

[Graham]

You could stand further back for a start. :laugh: sorry, :o only joking.

Intresting pic, unusual, but still cool.

I don't do photoshop etc etc, to confusing and I have a point and shoot camera and thats about the limits to my camera skills.

[twinkle]

Can I have a play? Then I can tell you want I did and you can do it yourself =)

Yer have a play, im not great with photoshop yet. sill learning the basics on it.
that pics has only been re-sized, no other photshopwork done.

[partyof5]

Firstly, I dont think the crop works. This is mainly due to the lack of eye contact. If she was looking directly at you, the eyes would then be the focal point and capture the attention of the viewer.

Secondly the lighting is very harsh, probably due to the time of day it was taken. Sometimes this is unavoidable though, as you never know when your going to get a good shot with kids!
If you get harsh lighting like this, its always a good idea to switch your flash on, and use approx -1 to -2 flash power. This will bring sparkle into the eyes-avoiding the darkness around the eyes thats seen here.

Also I'd suggest using a zoom lens and standing back, as we can see the photographer in the eyes.

Sorry if I sound harsh-but you did ask! lol!

[twinkle]

Firstly, I dont think the crop works. This is mainly due to the lack of eye contact. If she was looking directly at you, the eyes would then be the focal point and capture the attention of the viewer.

Secondly the lighting is very harsh, probably due to the time of day it was taken. Sometimes this is unavoidable though, as you never know when your going to get a good shot with kids!
If you get harsh lighting like this, its always a good idea to switch your flash on, and use approx -1 to -2 flash power. This will bring sparkle into the eyes-avoiding the darkness around the eyes thats seen here.

Also I'd suggest using a zoom lens and standing back, as we can see the photographer in the eyes.

Sorry if I sound harsh-but you did ask! lol!

Cheers for the honest reply. All taken on board :thumbsup:

The eyes, i always like the no contact with the camera, dont know why, just always have :laugh:
It was taken about 2pm in the sun. So light was very bright, but was to one side across the face. Is this why i have the dark shadows?
And yer it was a very close shot, taken at 55 length, very close. Never even looked at the reflection :laugh:

cheers :thumbsup:

[hermitz]

Our brains tend to make changes to what our eyes actually see, for example, most of us mere mortals simply don't see shaddows cast on the face of our subject and we only become aware of them after the shot has been taken. No need to get into reflectors etc, simple fill in flash will avoid such shaddows in future

[partyof5]

I admit, lack of eye contact does often work. But the shadows around the eyes means they are no longer the focal point-and this then reduces the implied impact of the off camera view. As said previously, fill in flash gets rid of the shadows. Alternatively get your daughter to hold a reflector to her left side of face. You can make a reflector out of a sheet of cardboard. Cut a decent sized piece of cardboard (at least size) for a face. The get some tinfoil, scrunch it up into a ball, then unfold and attach onto the card. Job done! One reflector! It may seem a bit of a gash job, but its what pro photographers use too! You can also use sheets of polystyrene,white card or even whit surroundings (i.e. white painted door) as reflectors.

[twinkle]

I admit, lack of eye contact does often work. But the shadows around the eyes means they are no longer the focal point-and this then reduces the implied impact of the off camera view. As said previously, fill in flash gets rid of the shadows. Alternatively get your daughter to hold a reflector to her left side of face. You can make a reflector out of a sheet of cardboard. Cut a decent sized piece of cardboard (at least size) for a face. The get some tinfoil, scrunch it up into a ball, then unfold and attach onto the card. Job done! One reflector! It may seem a bit of a gash job, but its what pro photographers use too! You can also use sheets of polystyrene,white card or even whit surroundings (i.e. white painted door) as reflectors.


Cool, cheers for the tip, may make one of these reflectors then. May have to make a stand for it tho, as shes only 2, But she loves her photo being taken.

[Ven]

burn the eyes a little to remove the reflection, then tinker with the lighting ranges is all the pic really needs if ur planning on photoshopping it

i found the pic a bit to bright for my own liking

[Paul]

I like the crop and the lack of eye contact, the crop could either be a little tighter or wider to include/exclude the nose.

The pic needs to be a bit sharper in the eyes for me. The soft edge focus works well tho.