Need CC on this practice session please!

[ErinPtX]

Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated! Thank you!

Taken with my 50 1.4 shot in manual (although I seem stuck on f/2 in all of these) and using SPOT metering. All done in natural light in a very small space (2 windows front and side).

Post processing was done using Lightroom pre-sets and a few with Noiseware and some eye popping in cs3.

#1
f/2
ss 90
ISO 400
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2340/2207297443_f5af31e72e.jpg

#2
f/2
ss 125
ISO 400
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2360/2208088616_87d070b36f.jpg

#3
f/2
ss 125
ISO 400
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2336/2207297327_156a88fa4c.jpg

[Chet]

I like #1 very nice. #2 the flower is distracting, move it down and I think you have something. #3 the harsh light on the right side ruins it for me. Your lucky to have such a beautiful receptive model. My daughter has already grown stale to posing and she's only 7.

[Robert_Lay]

In all three scenes you are having a problem with the highlights lacking any detail.
In your image editing software take a look at the histogram. How many pixels does it show piled up in the right margin at value 255?

If you are not shooting RAW, you should!

If you are not using the in-camera Highlight Alert feature, you should!

[ErinPtX]

I do shoot RAW and I do have highlight feature. My histogram shows that it doesn't touch the right at all sooc except for the last one and I used recovery slider in lightroom to correct it.

I think a re-occurring issue is the lighting I'm using. That window is south-facing and just way too harsh on the right. Guess I need to lug out the 2 speedlights and learn how to use them. :)

Thanks for the feedback! I hate these kinds of shots but in the winter here, I have no choice but to use it for practice. Winters in TX are as gray and blah as you can get. Not even any pretty snow!

[Robert_Lay]

All I can say is that while I don't see it often, I do see it occasionally. The pattern is that the histogram does not show clipping of the highlights, but they are definitely too bright and too chalky. It's as if they have been clipped at some earlier stage in processing and then artificially moved down to lower values, resulting in lack of detail or texture.

It would be very illuminating for you to send me one of RAW files as an attachment in order to see if I can figure out what is going on. Either that or post a RAW file at a Web Site from which I could download it.

I don't like to give someone a negative critique and then find out that there is something wrong with my monitor or whatever.

[SwingBopper]

I think Bob hit it right on. In the last one you can see loss of detail in the hair on her left where highlights were blown and then lowered, as you indicated in Lightroom. I think the pose and position of the flower in #1 is best. Very sharp captures of an adorable child.