C&C On My "Big Poop"

[cmm325]

I've been taking lots of pics of my 2 little girls since they were born. The attached image is of the "big poop". It's only until recently I've ventured beyond using my dslr as a p&s and I must say for the most part the images leave a lot to be desired. Hence this post to solicit comments and guidance as to how I can improve what I did. In this shot I used the following:

Camera: XTi
Lens: Canon 85mm F/1.8
Aperture: F/2.8
Flash Mode: none
Exposure Time: 1/160 sec
ISO Speed: 400
Metering Mode: Partial
Exposure Program: Manual
Exposure Compensation: 0 step

Given this was a spurt of the moment snapshot and the image turned out rather uninteresting. How should I have shot this differently?

Thanks.

[Robert_Lay]

Unless this was taken on a tripod (and I assume it was not) you should make it a habit to shoot with a somewhat higher shutter speed with that 85 mm lens. That is a marginal speed to be using with such a long lens (effectively 136 mm focal length).

The lighting seems to be a little flat. I assume that is due to a room with very diffuse lighting. Having at least some facial shadows enhances the 3-dimensionality or depth of the image. This image has no inherent layers to give the impression of depth.

On the good side, the pose is superb. You have caught her at a charming moment, and by cropping it to a vertical (portrait) orientation you would also eliminate a lot of the blah background and get it framed and hung.

[jde95tln]

It looks to me like she is sitting on some stairs. I might have tried zooming out and getting more of her and the stairs going up and taken it from a lower angle. Just my two cents, I'm no expert by any means.

[Camellia]

Her expression is lovely. My only compositional cc is that the stair is cutting her head in half which is distracting. The photo also looks a little soft, but that could just be because it hasn't been sharpened for the web, perhaps?

Very pretty girl :)

[cmm325]

Thank you for your kind and informative comments. The only processing I did with the image was to resize it. I didn't crop it nor did I ps it.

The only light source was whatever light that came in from the front door sidelights and the palladium window in the open foyer. The sun was oblique to the door and window so that may explain the flat lighting. I thought about using a 430ex in fill-flash mode but I wanted to see how well the new lens, camera and I can do in this situation.

I will post new shot later tonight with the collective suggestions from everyone for further critiques and comments.

Thanks again.