Interested in your comments...

Just wondering what other people think of this photo, the mom of this little boy,( who is a graphic/web designer) described it as a 'piece of fine art.'
Thanks for any c&c.

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Looks to me like the background was pasted in.the whites are blown,the bit of shrub in front is needless...

So....what do you think?

My son is a Graphic designer for the University of Victoria..what does that mean for any of my photos?

I do think the photo shows a lot of depth and it captured a curious expression. Any chance of recovering those highlights in RAW?

PhotoCupcake wrote in post #10623038
I do think the photo shows a lot of depth and it captured a curious expression. Any chance of recovering those highlights in RAW?

They will be purple?

I do have it in raw and no the background was not pasted, it was a dark background with the sunshinning on on the boy in the early evening- that's one thing I thought made the interestig- the contrast and he composition

and what does your son have to do with my capture? I don't know anything abou your work- maybe you should start by asking your son and starting another topic asking for a critique.

I think it's an interesting shot, and if the little boy's mother liked it, well then that really all that matters here.

Flo...you need to open up and tell us what you're really thinking. Holding back like that will just make you cranky.

digidiva wrote in post #10623866
I think it's an interesting shot, and if the little boy's mother liked it, well then that really all that matters here.

Flo...you need to open up and tell us what you're really thinking. Holding back like that will just make you cranky.

thanks! If others really thought it was different and a great capture- then I was going to try it out in a couple contests and see how it goes. I'll see if I can fix those highlights.

SnapsbyPoteat wrote in post #10623701
I do have it in raw and no the background was not pasted, it was a dark background with the sunshinning on on the boy in the early evening- that's one thing I thought made the interestig- the contrast and he composition

and what does your son have to do with my capture? I don't know anything abou your work- maybe you should start by asking your son and starting another topic asking for a critique.

You misread my comment..when you added parenthesis around the web/graphic designer, I assumed that was supposed to mean they had a better eye than most.. What my son likes and what I like are most often not the same.just saying.

Dig, why would you say that? I wasn't being nasty, I was simply typing what I saw, nothing more.

I also said it "looked" like the BG was pasted in ')

Do you have a larger version of the image? It's a bit small to really see if it's any good now.

Photos in direct sunlight will usually leave you with blown-out highlights, which is also the case here. I think it's a nice snapshot, but nothing more than that to be honest. The mother of the kid probably especially liked it because it's her kid in the image.

I personally wouldn't submit the photo in contests, but that's entirely up to you of course. I think it's a nice snapshot, but not a work of art.

Hope you had fun shooting!

Flo wrote in post #10623043
They will be purple?

Why?

The harsh sunlight doesn't help this picture. Shooting this early morning or late evening would give you better light. Using a flash for fill or even an ocf at the right time of day would really help. How you like a picture composed is very subjective. If the boy is the main subject I would crop this tighter. The surrounding branches are interesting on their own, but in this portrait they are very busy looking and distract from the kid.

As was said earlier if the mom likes the picture then you have done well, but if you want an honest critique there are many issues with the photo.

PhotoCupcake wrote in post #10624872
Why?

usually recovering highlights in RAW turns things gray, or I guess in Flo's case purple.


I always thought of a snapshot as a picture where auto mode and a point & shoot was used. Definitely not the case for me (I don't ever use either). Didn't think this would get downgraded to a 'snapshot'.

No one said anything about the composition of the bridge structure.
I felt this picture to be very original and unique to children's portraits as a whole, I do disagree that it is just a snapshot but I do thank everyone for their comments.

BTW - this park was where a portion of Gone with the wind was filmed in little rock arkansas!

If you tried to dodge and burn the blown areas, they would give a purple haze..at least mine have.just me I guess.

I don't think you really thought there would be a negative comment on this one.You have some nice photos in your portfolio, this one for me doesn't equal many in your bodies of work.

Don't let it bother you if someone calls it a snapshot. That term is thrown around on here often, but it is very subjective. I think the technical issues with the lighting something you can improve to grow as a photographer. How you frame your shot is more up to you and take other opinions with a grain of salt.

Thank you Flo, I appreciate that comment. I tend to find it over and over again on this forum that a photo I think is fabulous- the photographers on here find it awful. I guess I'm just disappointed that I have yet to find one that doesn't get eaten up in this forum.

I don't know much about dodging & burning- something I need to look into, most of my editing is within lightroom.

Stimpy- your right, I shouldn't let it bother me, but it's comments like that that challenge me to do better. So I guess in a way I need them, or else I could get too comfortable and cocky.

But working with the sunlight is something I need to work on, I usually do try to shoot in the shade when the sun is high up. But I saw this opportunity and I took it!