Let me know what you think

They really don't do much for me. #1 is just wayy to soft and out-of-focus. #2 has some potential, it could be cool as part of a set maybe, but alone, it doesn't tell any sort of story or have any meaning. #3 is good, in that it is a picture that the parents (you?) will really enjoy having, but as far as artistically, it doens't do much for me.

What are you shooting with?

thing is...the bottom photo is the first one I took, and yes it's of mine and my husband's son, born nearly 8 months ago.
The middle photo, I took out of boredom, and it is the newest of the three,
and the top, well, the blur was the intention, as babies are meant to look soft...

I'm shooting with a Canon Rebel XT
18-55mm lens
no flash (all three photos)

The bottom photo was meant to focus on the crib card and not the baby, we actually used that photo on his birth announcements.

memorylaynephotos82 wrote in post #15821279
thing is...the bottom photo is the first one I took, and yes it's of mine and my husband's son, born nearly 8 months ago.
The middle photo, I took out of boredom, and it is the newest of the three,
and the top, well, the blur was the intention, as babies are meant to look soft...

I'm shooting with a Canon Rebel XT
18-55mm lens
no flash (all three photos)

The bottom photo was meant to focus on the crib card and not the baby, we actually used that photo on his birth announcements.

The bottom is definitely the best of the three. I understand that yes, we want babies to look "soft", but there is a difference between being creatively soft, and being blurry and out of focus.

I also started with the Rebel XT and the 18-55, it's still a pretty nice little kit!

Yes but...their eyes better be crystal clear.

Shay:

To help with the focus issue on people (and babies), learn to select your focus point manually. Then, after you've selected that point, put it on the person's nearest eye, press the shutter to focus and take the picture, and the eye will be crystal clear (as chaucey recommended).

Thanks for sharing your work and welcome to POTN! There are many people who offer their advice. I've learned a lot from them.

Thank you for the tips.
I have more if you would like to critique them.
I am always open to suggestions and advice.

also...cpam...
I don't use the auto option on my camera,
I have been manual for about two months now...
the top picture was when I just started taking pictures without the auto focus lol

Sometimes, I switch back to auto, but I'm having some fun with the manual right now.

#1 front focused, you can see it in the shirt. "soft" and blown focus are two different things, focus on the eyes next time then play with the clarity in post if you want it soft.
#2 remove the vignette and don't blow out the highlights, looks savable.
#3 as others have said it's good, like it in B/W.
#4 watch out for clipping of your subject, try a B/W. Again though it looks like missed focus.

Why in world are you manually focusing that lens? it's terrible to manual focus.
Depending on your camera set it to the middle point and it should hunt less there.
Then recompose, I know that lens can be frustrating in low light.

If you want manual focus buy a vintage MF lens, they're dirt cheap and most will blow you away.
And they're fantastic to focus because they were made to be focused manually.

Check out our MF thread:
https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=644277

I am confused what to critique here.

@Mavrick...

for #4, would you have suggested a different angle? I was trying to focus on the post that was closest to me, which would be in the center of the picture. It's a grave that is in one of our parks here where I live.

As for the mf lenses, do you know the best place for me to look for one?

Again, thank you for your critiques...

I fail to understand why you would suggest that as there, can be/are, many scenarios that it works quite well. I might suggest that your not using manual focusing might be a failure in technique.