Blessing Dress- my first post

[krchristen]

I shot this a couple of weeks ago with my XTi using the kit 18-55mm lens. I used available light from the window and the built in flash as a fill flash. This is one of my better shots, but I would like some criticism. Does anyone think it looks a little flat?

On a side note, I am placing an order for the Canon 50mm f/1.4 today in hopes of doing better in low light situations.

[stillinamerica]

Good first try, good composition. It is a little flat....not really 'popping out at us'. i would say it is a little dark, could do with lightening up a little bit pp.


just my thoughts

[mathogre]

What a happy little girl!!!!!! She's beautiful.

I'm shocked the built-in flash didn't overpower the image. Yes, as stillinamerica suggested, you could bring it up in pp.

Re the 50mm f/1.4, you're gonna love it. I love mine! You might also want to invest in an external flash. I have a 430EX, and it's excellent. You can rotate it virtually any way you want. For a shot such as you took, I'd rotate mine counterclockwise and point it up at the ceiling (maybe only to 75°) for fill. Were I doing it today I'd probably get the 580EX II.

Welcome to PotN!!!!

[krchristen]

I appreciate the responses mathogre and stillinamerica.

She is great. We just adopted her.

I would love to get the 580EX II. I have been dreaming of getting that for about 2 years now. However, I thought it would be best to get the lens first, then when some more money frees up I can buy the flash.

I appreciate the critiques. What do you mean by, "lightening up a little bit pp?" I'm am unsure of what pp means.

Oh, never mind. Post Processing.

[mathogre]

Congrats on the adoption! My sis-in-law adopted almost a year and a half ago. They adopted a 5 y.o., and it was their first child. It took some adjustments, but I think they're finally realizing they're parents.

She's your child. She's beautiful! Take lots of photos of her and of all of you as a family. :cool:

[PixelPusher]

PP usually means post processing. Using an image editor to adjust the photo. Photoshop, etc. Nice pic bye the way.

[Lilyfox]

Beautiful photo!

Do you shoot in RAW? With the right settings, you can turn flat photos into pictures that "pop"! On my most recent shoot, the auto white balance desaturated the color in all my photos, but changing the white balance and adding a bit of contrast+brightness really improved the picture.

What PP software do you use? I do all my PP in Lightroom.

(I would have shown you an example with your own image, but you don't have "Image Editing OK" turned on on the forum. So here is an example of one of mine from yesterday)

http://img704.imageshack.us/img704/5114/44945135.jpg

[krchristen]

Beautiful photo!

Do you shoot in RAW? With the right settings, you can turn flat photos into pictures that "pop"!

(I would have shown you an example with your own image, but you don't have "Image Editing OK" turned on on the forum. So here is an example of one of mine from yesterday)


I just changed the photo editing settings. I would be curious what you would specifically do with my photo. I do shoot in RAW. I have Corel Paint Shop Pro II, Elements 5.0, and the Beta of Lightroom 3.
I'll do a bit of experimenting.

[Lilyfox]

I just changed the photo editing settings. I would be curious what you would specifically do with my photo. I do shoot in RAW. I have Corel Paint Shop Pro II, Elements 5.0, and the Beta of Lightroom 3.
I'll do a bit of experimenting.

http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/1594/jul01.jpghttp://img51.imageshack.us/img51/1594/jul01.jpg

This is what I did, though, since I am not editing the RAW, it will be slightly different for you in Lightroom (mainly your white balance, I checked Custom for this one, but something else might be better when you're working in RAW format).

Exposure: +0.95
Brightness: +7
Contrast: +32
Clarity: +75

[krchristen]

Wow, that is a big difference. I will try it out a little later when I get a bit of time. Thank you!

[Lilyfox]

Wow, that is a big difference. I will try it out a little later when I get a bit of time. Thank you!

No problem :)

Also, depending on if you have any noise (I can't tell at this size), you can also use the noise reduction sliders as well.