Son @ the Beach

This was taken a couple months ago. (slow edit)

Anyhow, the photo doesn't really seem to have the dimension I'm looking for. It seems very flat to me. I'm sure it's post prod related, but I can't put my finger on it.

Any pointers or ideas?

i think he could use a little more contrast.. and a little bit more light in his face.

are his eyes naturally like that?

beautiful baby.

shannon

Thanks for taking the time Shannon.

I think that may be the problem. The light in his face was very low prior to edit. I boosted exp and fill light. The thing is, if I add more fill, it's starts looking very cartoonish. You know.

His eyes. Now that you mention it ... They do seem a little more vividly blue (almost glowing) in this particular shot. But, yea, I didn't mess with them, other than the fill bump.

Here is a few shots of him under more controlled lighting...

https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=707654

His eyes may be the thing that is messing with me. Maybe it's just a bad angle/lighting.
I remember that day .. he was very tired too. But it was his first trip tot he beach and I HAD to have photos.

In any case, thanks for responding.

Ok, I added more contrast and bumped the fill up a bit.

Does this look better to you guys?

Or maybe a less saturated version?

...

I like the more-saturated-contrasty one the best, actually. You know this may seem really silly, but was your lens focused on him/his face? It seems a teensy bit soft in that area, but it could just be me/the web compression. And the harsh sun/dark face is probably what's bothering you, though I still think this is an adorable picture & the composition is very nice. Looks like he had a lot of fun at the beach!

I happen to like the less saturated one- water color very cape cod "ish". Natural.
I am having the same discussions with myself when it comes to water, beaches and post production...not to mention harsh shadows at the wrong time of day etc. I think you did a great job considering all that!

I think I like the second one the best... but I like the desaturated look on the third one as well.

i like hte more contrasty shot the de saturated one looks funny but it might just be my monitor

and i agree with Cheiri, it seems a bit soft on the face, almost like the focal area was elsewhere

You should have used some fill-flash. Cute baby and I like the saturated look in #2 shot.

Thanks for the input everyone.

I'm picking up a 580exII in the next week or so. Hopefully that will fill shadows like these in the future. I just really hate the built-in flash.