New to dslr photography - what do you think?

[Kerilynn]

Hi guys & girls - Just started using a dslr and wanted to get your opinion on this photo of my daughter. Do you think I should have used a higher aperture to keep more in focus?

[CliffordPhotography]

Very nice photo...

Did she have to sit awhile for the birds to get close?

[daisy14]

She's adorable.Great picture!

[JohnMarshall]

Hi
Great picture, as to your question, you might have benefited by using a smaller aperture to get more depth of field, her face is soft compared to her knee. The new aperture would have given you a slower shutter speed but as the original was 1/1250 second you could use a slower speed without getting camera shake
John

[Bill Roberts]

Personally I don't think you should have used a smaller aperture at all. You could argue that maybe you haven't focussed on her eyes perfectly (which is usually the best spot to aim for) but by using f/3.5 you've got the background enough out of focus to emphasise the subject, and it works fine. Maybe you could use the ruler tool (in photoshop) just to literally level the horizon, but that's about it.

I'm sure you'll look back on it in a few years and still like the shot.

cheers

[Kerilynn]

Thanks for the comments! I think I will level it out. I actually didn't even notice until you pointed it out. As for the focus on her knee, I do try and focus on her eyes and then recompose but it doesn't always work. Still learning.
We were feeding the birds bread quite close to her, thats how they got so close.

[iddycourt]

great picture, surprised how calm she is with the birds really close by
welcome to the forum