Matt

really nice, not sure what it is but in the center of his chin right above the blue knitted thing is "something" i'd remove.

Thanks Rick - I'm sure that is just a loose thread from his "night-night"! My wife knitted that for him when he was born (2-1/2 yrs ago) and is pretty shredded. She knitted him a new one, but he will not use it. I am very new to any post processing. I have an old Photoshop 7 and all I did to this photo was "automatic levels" I just recently got Lightroom 3, but haven't even started learning it yet

I googled removing blemishes in Lightroom and did the following:

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …/65527115@N02/6​863288232/

cute kid.

critique or no critique?

Yes, please do. I am fairly new to photography and willing to learn. This was basically just a quick snapshot but would like to know anything I could have done to make it better.

the main thing i notice is that it is soft, whether due to camera shake/subject motion or from missed focus.

the very very front (close) portion of the blanket looks sharp so your lens may have front focused or you moved back a bit after locking focus or something like that. if you are using a large aperture, you have to be very careful to be still or try using Servo so the focus will update as movement is detected.

Thanks Higgs Bottom. I noticed the focus was best on the blanket and realize now I need to use servo when photographing the grandkids. Here is the EXIF: SS 1/250, F/4, 70MM. Flash was bounced of the ceiling. I have just started using the flash and learning it also. Is the aperture ok for using the flash? I also was using center point focus and may have actually focused on the blanket!

Yep, looks fine, just watch your focus point!

Higgs Bottom? Oh well, I've been called worse.

^lol.

You were shooting at what looks to be f/2.5-ish, which left you with very little depth of field. You missed focus on his eyes, which tends to give the image a softer feel. Do you use single point focus or does your camera select the focus point for you ?

The good: looks like a natural smile to me; not always easy to get with kids !

one other thing i would mention as something to watch out for is the frames of the glasses cutting the eyes..its ashame to obscure such nice blue eyes... Also like others have said.. using a smaller apeture gives you more "wiggle room"

Higgs Boson - oops.......... Sorry bout that, guess I may need new glasses

Chris - Actually that was shot f/4. I do use center point focus. I just need to make sure when I look thru the viewfinder that I am using that center point! I really need to practice, practice practice. Yes, Matt does have that natural smile that is so great for photos!