Baby Photo Critic

This is my first time adding to the site. I appreciate the comments that everyone will add. I am new to my camera and CS5 and have been working for a while to get a couple photos of my baby that will be classics for her to look back on. Please let me know what you think and suggestions to improve the photos. Thanks!

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29 views and no suggestions. There must be something I can work on.

the second is quite cute, she has too much stuff on in the first.

Try getting above her and shooting down while she is on a pillow or a boppy with a single blanket over it. Then put the boppy up on a table and prop her so we can see her head held up and take a photo that way. Be aware of junk in the background, spread a large blanket and use only that.

Thank you. Agreed with the layout. I have a few of those but feel at times that they are too much of a presentation rather than in the moment. Do you think more contrast or less contrast with the black and white? is the selective color worth it or not?

I like the black and white the way it is, selective color isn't my thing, have never really liked it.

Meaningful photos often have other people in them, grandma, sibling, daddy type shots. Not posed, but casual shots of every day things.

Overall they're really nice, but the first one has too much going on. The cell phone in the background, the Boston blanket, try and isolate your subjects more.
I agree with Skrim17, I'd have some "action"(as they say) shots with family. Playing with toys, feeding, ect. Those are the kinds of shots my sister in law loved most of her little one.

Second one seems a little flat in tone (ie. the light/shadow doesn't bring out the form of the baby's face as much as I'd like). The light seems pretty good--directional; it might be the way in which you turned the photo to B+W. It's usually best to have control over the conversion and if you don't know how to do this I totally recommend studying up on it.

i like the second one a lot, just wish it wasnt so noisy (that may just be the uploader/jpeg conversion though).

the first picture would be MUCH better if it was a portrait layout and had all of the stuff to the left and right of her cropped out. also, showing more of her face would be good for posterity pictures.