Please Critique! My Son At The Park

[DavidSR]

Hey guys,

I posted this in kids and family, but decided to also post here for critique. All were taken with the 55-250 except the one where he's spinning.

Thanks!

#1 I really wish he was looking at me when I took this.
http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/ff357/davidsr84/AidanWeb2.jpg

#2 I got this idea from a thread I saw on here.
http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/ff357/davidsr84/Aidan3Web.jpg

#3 This little girl just came up to my son at the park and started holding his hand. I like this one because you can see her holding his hand in their shadows. Oh and in case anyone is wondering..he is wearing a glove because he tends to suck his fingers :(
http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/ff357/davidsr84/AidanWeb4.jpg

#4 And here is a close-up of the little girl.
http://i539.photobucket.com/albums/ff357/davidsr84/AidanWeb5.jpg

[macobee]

awesome! and i can feel what you are feeling, very nice all!

[DavidSR]

Thanks for the comment! I'm still learning and can use all the help I can get.

Does the last picture look noisy? I didn't lighten it any..just boosted contrast saturation and played with levels a little.

[macobee]

not noisy i'd say but the last pic does the least for me though i have to say she got very nic eyes and hair.......

im also learning and not doing good at all most the time.......im jealous of what you achieve!

[Flo]

Second is a fabulous shot! Maybe a tad bit of contrast, thats it !
Watch when you are composing your subjects that they are all not center..offside will tend to draw the eye in better than straight on? You will see this ad naseum;). There are many times when center is what is needed.

[DavidSR]

not noisy i'd say but the last pic does the least for me though i have to say she got very nic eyes and hair.......

im also learning and not doing good at all most the time.......im jealous of what you achieve!

Thanks! No need to be jealous..trust me..haha..:)

Second is a fabulous shot! Maybe a tad bit of contrast, thats it !
Watch when you are composing your subjects that they are all not center..offside will tend to draw the eye in better than straight on? You will see this ad naseum:wink:. There are many times when center is what is needed.

Thanks! I did add some contrast to every picture, but I can go back and try to add a bit more. Can you please tell me which picture in particlar would have done better with a different composition? I thought #1 looked fine with him being centered, but that's just me :D

Thanks again!

[hawkeye60]

To each his own, I like the last one best. But I would like to see it a bit brighter.

[Flo]

Thanks! No need to be jealous..trust me..haha..:)



Thanks! I did add some contrast to every picture, but I can go back and try to add a bit more. Can you please tell me which picture in particlar would have done better with a different composition? I thought #1 looked fine with him being centered, but that's just me :D

Thanks again!

They are all centered;)but again, it does work in alot of instances.The crop will have alot to do with the outcome I have experienced.

The second shot with a boost in contrast...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v299/emmaloudawg/Aidan3Web.jpg

[DavidSR]

To each his own, I like the last one best. But I would like to see it a bit brighter.

Can you please share on what you did to make it brighter? I wanted it brighter, but my fiance thought it looked better darker haha..I do like your edit!

Thanks!

They are all centered:wink:but again, it does work in alot of instances.The crop will have alot to do with the outcome I have experienced.

The second shot with a boost in contrast...

What did you do to increase the contrast? It does look better with the higher contrast! I just go to brightness/contrast. Not sure if there are any other ways of doing it.

Thanks!

[Flo]

David, I have exposure and contrast when doing simple touches in iPhoto.just a slide in the contrast .up to 73 I think.

[DavidSR]

Thanks! I'll go ahead and boost the contrast a bit more :)

[hecster]

that merry go round picture makes me dizzy. nice effect though!

[DavidSR]

that merry go round picture makes me dizzy. nice effect though!

I didn't want to make anyone dizzy! haha..Thanks! Maybe I should have used a slightly faster shutter speed?

[eror11]

I'd use an even slower shutter speed to get everything really blurred out... also in 1., id step a foot to the left and recompose to remove the cars from the bg which are a bit annoying (to me personally) :)

[KYmom]

I liked the dizzy effect,, makes you feel like your there.

[DavidSR]

I'd use an even slower shutter speed to get everything really blurred out... also in 1., id step a foot to the left and recompose to remove the cars from the bg which are a bit annoying (to me personally) :)

Yeah, I didn't think about that. I just liked the way he was sitting there and snapped it :)

I liked the dizzy effect,, makes you feel like your there.

Trust me..it wasn't fun being on it ;)

Thanks for the comments!

[chris1965]

priceless, you have a good eye for composition, keep up the good work.

[LittleFrog]

I'm very new to this forum. This is actually my first time posting anything. I LOVED the first and second pictures. I was wondering how you shot the second picture? Thanks!

[DavidSR]

priceless, you have a good eye for composition, keep up the good work.

Thank you very much! :)

I'm very new to this forum. This is actually my first time posting anything. I LOVED the first and second pictures. I was wondering how you shot the second picture? Thanks!

With a slow shutter :)..got on...set slow shutter (1/20-1/60)..aimed and shot..like I said previously..the hardest part was to stay on!

[guppiegale]

#1 To only be able to look through a child's eyes again! Makes me wonder what he is looking at, an ant, sparkling rock?

#2 This shot is very cute! His smile says it all

#4 I love this one just as it is, I hope her parents were able to see this shot! As a mom of 4 (grown) children it makes my heart miss those days at the park!

Thanks for sharing, good job!

[DavidSR]

Thanks for the comments!

And on #4..She was there with her Dad and I made sure I showed him before they left. I told him I would e-mail him a copy when I get a chance. I just sent it 2 days ago but still no response.

[zerovision]

I like #2 the best, but I agree with hawkeye60 on #4. Lightening up her face really completed the picture. I did not see what lens you used for #2. It is very good, but if you have a fast lens to add more blur to the background, or slow that shutter speed a little more for more blur in the background. This is not to take anything away for the picture itself, but to me, more background blur would simply bring more attention to the subject.

[DavidSR]

Thanks for the comment! On the 2nd one I used my 18-55 because my 55-250 is way too long to even attempt something like that. I think I shot at around F/16 because if I shot any wider the picture would be blown. If I shot at F/2.8 there would be more blur in the background but I don't believe I would have much motion blur. I would have to use a faster shutter so I don't blow out my image and that would have taken away some of the motion I wanted to convey. Hope that makes sense.

[PETERSYMES]

In the first one i think he needs to sit more in the centre of the swing, level his hands and uncross his feet that way he will get far more momentum and height.
On the roundabout he needs to get a bit closer to the edge for maximum speed........Oh sorry i took the thread title literally:D

Seriously i like the roundabout shot and the last profile of you sons new found friend.
Maybe the roundabout shot slightly bright but always difficult in strong sunlight without loosing shadow details, i like the last shot as is and personally would not brighten it:)

Sorry Chris 1965 have to disagree with you on the composition, i feel it is the weakest element of all 4 shots and agree with Flo's point back on page 1.

[chauncey]

One secret of taking "kids in park" images once you have your basics down pat is "take a lot of pictures".
That "one moment of emotion" is easy to miss.

This one early evening, I took over 200 images and got lucky on this one,
http://www.photoshopuser.com/members/portfolios/view/image/134374

Just be patient.

[Croasdail]

Lets start with number 2... great shot. I love anything that includes motion in it. Well conceived.

The rest... they are all cute shots, and I see why you like them. So as memories, they are great. But compositionally speaking, they are a little rough. But who cares - they are great memories so unless you wanted to enter these in a contest, nothing wrong with them at all. For kids, it's all in the eyes... and when you don't have them, they kind of fall into the really good snap shot category. For example, the last shot is cute, but had you rotated around just a little more, you might have been able to grab the catch light in her eyes... that sparkle.

But still, all good shots for what they were intended. I wouldn't feel bad at all.

[DavidSR]

Thanks for the comments everyone!

None of these were posed but just taken as a father who sees his son enjoying life! I will attempt to go back there and take some posed shots and put a little more though into composition and lighting!

Thanks again!

[chauncey]

Posed is not the way to go if you looking for spontaneity.

[DavidSR]

Posed is not the way to go if you looking for spontaneity.

Well, this time it was unposed..but next time I hope to do some informal portraits with minimal posing :)..still going to get some spontaneity though!