My Twin Nieces...help improve

[aam1234]

I kind of like this photo of my twin nieces. But somehow I think it could be improved. What would you do.

Feel free to edit/PS as much as you like. But be prepared to show what you did :D

[drewmk2]

I love the yellow shirts, but the one in front is kind of a distraction to me. It would be cool if they were standing with 1 slightly behind the other, their faces both in focus.

I like the narrow DOF.

[aam1234]

Thanks drewmk2,

You make it sound so easy. Wish it was the case.

IMO, taking photos of kids that age is like taking pics of F1 cars, they move so fast! One only has virtually a split second to take the shot, otherwise...it's gone.

[jfrancho]

Man, that is a cute pic. Devilish little smirks. I'm not sure that any ps would greatly improve things - might make it different, but probably not improved. I know it is hard (I twin nieces that just turned three) but perhaps consider a slightly smaller aperture, to get both young ladies in the dof, while maintaining that narrow dof look. Remember that the focus zone is one third in frnt, and two thirds behind the focal point (I think that's right, someone can correct if I'm wrong), so probably nailing the fore childs left shoulder as the focus lock would about do it. I think you nailed the composition perfectly. Maybe if the background scenery was more interesting (but too interesting, or distracting) than a step and a dark rectangular doorway or stage ao whatever it is, that would transform a lovely snap, into a beautiful photograph. All in all, however, a good job considering the nature of young children!

[aam1234]

Thanks jfrancho,

You have very good points there. But as you know (if I understood you correctly) these cute demons :D moves so fast! I'm surprised I stole that shot. And it was taken with the 24-70L nonetheless.

[smittymike19]

Thanks drewmk2,

You make it sound so easy. Wish it was the case.

IMO, taking photos of kids that age is like taking pics of F1 cars, they move so fast! One only has virtually a split second to take the shot, otherwise...it's gone.

lol. yes you are correct. what i do with my son is this, use t mode. set the ss for a minimum of about 2x the focal length. for 50mm use 1/100 sec. Try to get f/8 by adjusting the iso if you have to. Then, snap away. what i do with my son is give him something interesting to focus his attention on. if you gave them a cool doll, you would slow em down and you could also get soem closeups of their hands playing with them. for those use a shallow dof, makes for an interesting pic.

generally speaking, if you are taking a picture of 2 people you should have them both in focus, unless you are going for an artistic effect. to me this isnt the type of picture to use that effect. :)

[jfrancho]

That's a good tip smitty, regarding the Tv mode. I sometimes go as high as 1/1000th sec. shooting kids, depends on what they're doing. The only drawback to using Tv mode is that you lose control over the aperture. You can influence this value somewhat by applying a shift in exposure compensation, film speed, or combination of the two. For that reason, I often resort to manual mode, and manually bracket the aperture setting. This can be a tall order at, say a T-ball game, but you get the idea.

[Skip Souza]

Thanks drewmk2,

You make it sound so easy. Wish it was the case.

IMO, taking photos of kids that age is like taking pics of F1 cars, they move so fast! One only has virtually a split second to take the shot, otherwise...it's gone.

F1 cars are more predictable :lol:

Why not try continuous drive mode. Film is cheap ;) . Just throw out the bad ones. Kinda like percentage shooting.

[aam1234]

F1 cars are more predictable :lol:

Why not try continuous drive mode. Film is cheap ;) . Just throw out the bad ones. Kinda like percentage shooting.

Now that's a sound advice! Why didn't I think of that!

[aam1234]

Now I know how to edit this photo. But how can I change it after the edit.

[smittymike19]

Now I know how to edit this photo. But how can I change it after the edit.
Huh?:confused:

[Skip Souza]

Oh yeah, your neices are adorable. Well worth more pix.

[aam1234]

Huh?:confused:

I can edit the original, but how can I replace it with the current one. Hope it makes sense.

Edit: I mean how can I edit the above photo then replace it.

[jfrancho]

I can edit the original, but how can I replace it with the current one. Hope it makes sense.

Edit: I mean how can I edit the above photo then replace it (the above).You'll have to use the Manage Attachments button, or attach a link to the edited file using this button: http://photography-on-the.net/forum/images/editor/insertimage.gif.

[aam1234]

Thanks JF, I'll try it right now. So glad somebody understood my broken English :D

[aam1234]

How about now.

[jfrancho]

Your edit is having me eat my words about ps not improving the pic. I think the crop is very effective at making this a better shot with the aft child gaining some prominance in the edited pic. No more background clutter either. Very subtle, yet effective change.

[aam1234]

In other words, they are cute :D

[aam1234]

BTW, they call me "Uncle click click"...for obvious reasons :D

[jfrancho]

Thanks JF, I'll try it right now. So glad somebody understood my broken English :DI fixed mine with duct tape...and it's my native language.

[aam1234]

ha ha.

[aam1234]

Btw, do you think Golden Mean (http://www.acdsystems.com/English/Community/ColumnsArticles/PhotoTips/photo-2005-04-09.htm) is in that photo.

[I Simonius]

I kind of like this photo of my twin nieces. But somehow I think it could be improved. What would you do.

Feel free to edit/PS as much as you like. But be prepared to show what you did :D


Just a couple of possible crops:

My first concern was to remove some of the distracting background
Then I tried a few to see how tight it could be cropped and still retain their characters and context

I'm sure others have said this but do try more shots experimenting with depth of field

[aam1234]

Thanks Simon, you did an excellent job there. The second crop is really nice.

About DOF, the reason I liked this photo is that the first niece is a bit OOF while the second is in focus.

Thanks again

[I Simonius]

Thanks Simon, you did an excellent job there. The second crop is really nice.

About DOF, the reason I liked this photo is that the first niece is a bit OOF while the second is in focus.

Thanks again

You could experiment cropping and see if you can put the ' in focus' eye in the sweet spot in that Golden mean aspect, as you mentioned it :D