A rare \"people\" photo... How'd I do?

[CyberDyneSystems]

Actually taken with an old Olympus,. so don't expect 10D image quality. One of the very few portraits I've taken. So,. what did i do wrong :)

http://images.fotopic.net/?id=2179624&outx=980&oq=0&noresize=1&nostamp=1

[maderito]

CDS,

A lovely composition. The in focus child and de-focused parent(?) is perfect. You elected to create a lot of contrast in the the shot -- a lot of shadows without detail. My sense is that some of the shadows could be opened up a bit (especially in the child's face and shirt) while still preserving the constrasting light/dark portions of the overall shot. The Micky Mouse button (?) is a bit distracting and draws a lot of attention because it is well lit. In general, I think the child deserves more emphasis (via light) than you've given. If this is one shot in a series, than you could more easily get away with this variation from a more a conventional shot.

[RbnDave]

CDS-

I like the composition and the sharpness. It is difficult to get two faces in focus and no motion blur when shooting indoors with available light. You did a good job.

However, I think the adult's face is too dark. I think it is important to see the subjects eyes and in this photo I only see shadows. Also, the adult's hair shows no detail. Or it could be the junky hotel monitor I am viewing your photo with.

I've been experimenting a bit with shots similar to this (indoor available light) and I'm having limitted success. The trick is to make sure some light is directly lighting the subject's face. In your photo, it looks like there is a window directly behind your subject. If you could have got the subject to turn 90 degrees in either direction you could have got some nice side lighting. Or, you could have positioned yourself behind the subject and got a well lit photo of the backs of their heads. Or, you could buy a flash for your 10D and take it along next time you go visiting people over the holidays :)

You have to be sneaky when taking photos at holiday get togethers. I creep around gradually opening all the curtains and turning on all available lamps. This insures the best possible light. It takes some skill to photo unsuspecting humans in their natural habitat.

Hope that helped.

Dave

[CyberDyneSystems]

Thanks for the tips.
Dave I appreciate your suggestions of planning ahead and getting the space as well lit as possible... I think I will try that next time :) At some pint I will get and learn to use a real flash... but I do like available light so much better most fo the time.

[msvadi]

I think it's a nice shot. I like the focus. However, I think that the shadows are not pleasant, probably, because of backlit situation.

[Leighow]

CDS

DOWNSIDE
The picture is a bit dark (but responds well to curves)
The father's hair is chopped off and being dark it sets up a framing detail that cannot be matched on the child's side of the image without some serious cropping
The curtains create the bright spot in the picture that our eyes have to ignore


UPSIDE
This is a wonderfully relaxed image. What father has not been filled with joy , holding his sob or daughter with a hand and mouthful of "stuff"!?

This is it. Not really posed (kids don't pose) !

Dad is lucky that the shirt is still clean! The photographer is luck that the cookie is not all over his Olympus lens.

PS:

When my oldest son sat eating -- or should I say scooping -- apple sauce in his high chair the stuff was allover the chair and the shirt and his fingers and face. Then .... whoomph .. he would toss the bowl onto the floor.

[mvrekum]

I believe the bright curtains are to distracting, so are the toy (?) the kid is holding and Mickey mouse. Also I think the image is a bit to dark.

The moment, however, is perfect.

So what would I do?
I would crop the image to remove the toy, mickey and the bright curtains, next use the curves tool to open up the shadows and desaturate the image a bit. (I tried it and it looks a lot better).

Martin

[G3]

I see nothing at all wrong with the composition. I don't even think the Mickey Mouse thingie or the curtains are really a distraction. I like the available light approach, too. I think what I would have done is use a silver reflector over the photographer's right shoulder to reflect some of the natural light from the front to open the shadows up a little (sort of a natural-light "fill-flash" effect). This image can easily be corrected in Photoshop.