Candid in the back yard

I just wanted to get some feedback on this.. it's a little more stylized than how I normally edit. Thanks.

I like it for what it is, a great casual candid shot. The bokeh in the top right corner is a little strange, but that obviously isn't in your control. I'm guessing you lifted the black levels in the Tone Curve ...I tend do that occasionally as well to get that slight washed-out, "yester-year" effect. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. In this case, I like it.

I like it! To my eye, the skintones are a touch yellow, but my monitor isn't as accurate as I'd like.
Are you familiar with the Mastin presets? They're useful for a printed-from-film look without as much work.

The boys arms look very strange.

A good shot in difficult light.

Running in with a reflector would have helped, but then the moment would have been lost. The Bokeh is a bit odd.

rrblint wrote in post #18074086
The boys arms look very strange.

It's hyper-flexed from leaning on it.. most people's arms do this.

Martin Dixon wrote in post #18074214
A good shot in difficult light.

Running in with a reflector would have helped, but then the moment would have been lost. The Bokeh is a bit odd.

There's a chain link fence back there, and it looks like the light is reflecting off of it.. maybe that's what you're referring to.

Hindsight being what it is...ya might have chosen a better place in the yard.

chauncey wrote in post #18074290
Hindsight being what it is...ya might have chosen a better place in the yard.

LOL, do you have kids?

There's a reason why this is called a candid and not a formal shoot.

Aah...nine thru the years...

Very nice. The boy's arm looks bent funny at the elbow, but it is a candid as you noted. It is what it is.

What do I see in the image? Cute children intent on looking at something (playing with something?) they found in the grass.

Calm down....Sometimes I feel that some people put their photos in critique corner and only expects positive reactions. People around are here to help you, please don´t ask them for pure compliments, be happy that people with trained eyes are giving you constructive critique for free.

It doesn´t matter if it´s candid shot and not formal shooting, Same rules apply.... During formal shoot, you can tweak lot of things, ask people to move around to improve final photo, candid shoot are different - either your shot will be good or even perfect as it is or you can wait for ideal conditions and try capture those moments as many times as you want till it´s perfect, but you have to deal with lot of bad photos to get one perfect. It´s about luck as well.

It doesn´t matter if the arm bending is normal or not in real life, but it doesn´t look good on this photo... Remember only final results matter.

You are a stellar photographer...there is no reason not to take a stellar candid.

It's a nice candid. The boy's arm easily straightens out using Liquify in Photoshop. You might also work to fill the blown out leg with just a little skin tone and darken the weird bokeh in the u/rt.