What did I do wrong?

[Tommys67]

On initial glance, this is a great shot of my younger son. I took it St. Patrick's Day, and am just getting around to getting C&C on it. IMO - it's close to a great candid picture, but it's not great. It looks soft to me - does it look soft to anyone else? (also - I know I missed the top of his head in the composition of the shot. Kids - damn they move fast!)

http://www.mendhams.com/cars/parksbefore031707.jpg



For the specifics, 30D, 24-70L lens at 62mm, f/2.8, 1/125, ISO 400, WB Auto, shot in RAW, converted to jpeg and resized. That's it.

My gut feeling is I got cocky hand-holding at this shutter speed and exposure level?

Other thoughts - I have AF on the center spot only - maybe I mis-targeted?

Any other thoughts? The lens is new, and I'm pretty sure it's not an equipment issue (I'm still a bit of a newbie) so I'm looking for input on what I may have done wrong on this shot.

Thanks! - Tom

[vjack]

It does look a touch soft. What sort of sharpening did you do post processing?

[Tommys67]

It does look a touch soft. What sort of sharpening did you do post processing?

No processing done at all - i just used the Canon software (Digital Photo Professional) to convert to jpeg and used iPhoto to resize.

[Radtech1]

My quick take.

First, sharpness can be enhanced in processing. I don't know what you had your camera set at, but I believe it was in focus - just not sharpened. Search the forums for "High Pass Sharpening".

Second, OOC is often quite flat, contrast wise. Don't be afraid to enhance it.

Third, crop out areas that do not contribute to the shot.

Fourth, clone out areas that do not contribute to the shot.

MOST IMPORTANTLY:

If you are going to photograph kids, get on your ass, or on your knees and put the camera at eye level. I know this was just a "grab", but the universe is dense with shots of kids looking up into the camera. PUT ME IN THEIR WORLD. Give me a shot that defies the routine.

Rad

[Dan-o]

Cropped head and DOF is a little shallow but exposure is fine.

http://stantoneagles.com/me/par.jpg

[Tommys67]

Wow! Thanks for the honesty and constructive criticism - I really appreciate it. I learn something every time I read through this forum.

I just took the image as basic as I could format it to get it on here. I have soooooo much more to learn, but I appreciate your time. I also like the comment about getting into their world for the perspective. Will do!!

Nice work on the edits!!

[Meaty0]

Hi Tom.

Dan-o hit the nail on the head. With the lens "wide-open" you're only going to get a narrow band of focus, especially that close.
You know Tom, if you're in a hurry to get the shot, there's no shame in using the "green square" mode. :-D

[Tommys67]

You know Tom, if you're in a hurry to get the shot, there's no shame in using the "green square" mode. :-D

LOL!!! That's too easy!!:cool:

[Titus213]

Beautiful eyes! I like Radtech1's conversion - and his advice to get down to their level. You've got the equipment and the model. I would suggest you use the P mode for these quick grab shots since you can adjust some. And of course, you can shoot RAW in P mode.

[kmorgan]

My edit: cropped, adjusted levels manually by channel, used Shadow/Highlights adjustment (0/14), converted to lab mode and USM'd the lightness channel, converted back to RGB and saved for web.

Kevin

[S.Horton]

Did you happen to let Camera Raw do the 'auto' adjustment?

Grab the Kelby book on Photoshop, apply a bit of color correction, a touch of sharp, all will be well!

[S.Horton]

... relative NOOB on advanced CS2; bit of an attempt.