Edit: Thanks everyone for the helpful advice. Good things to think about for future shots, and a lot of things I need to read up on. I'm deleting the picture from the site at this time.
I am so drawn to this picture, I just love it. I can't really say exactly why. I think partly because it makes me think of those modeling pictures where the fan is blowing the model's hair.
I'm considering entering it in a local fair in the "People" category. Do you think it's good enough for that, or do I just love it because it's my granddaughter?
it needs some work doing to it for me - crop the tree out and whatever is in the bottom left corner. the colour is very flat so maybe boost that and lighten the eyes. people naturally go there first in portrait shots and they are very dull. and reduce the blacks to bring detail back in the jacket a bit
I'm from a camera club and regularly have competitions with judges comments - depending on who you have judging it - this is likely to be what they will say
@kmrtn6 I don't have photoshop and haven't really done any editing to speak of, so I don't know how to do any of those things except the cropping. It's probably a dumb idea to even try to enter anything at this point I suppose. Thank you for your input.
Maybe adjust the exposure a bit so its brighter. Do a slight increase of the colour and I agree with @kmrtn6 crop the tree out. If you're on a budget Picasa 3 through Google is a free easy to use photo editing application that you can use. Its how I started. :)
I'm no hand at editing either. But I would crop out the branch at the top, and crop out the sides, retaining the child's face and body. I think that the subject should usually fill the shot. But I would encourage you to enter the competition - it's always worthwhile to show other people what you've done. You like it, I like it, it's just possible you will find others that like it!
@kmrtn6@psychegrrrl I went into picmonkey and brightened it a bit and cropped. People at my camera club talk about Lightroom a lot but I haven't really investigated editing software too much yet. I do use Picassa, mostly for cropping and boosting color. The brightening boosted the catchlight in her eyes some. I know the judges in our club talk about that a lot. Thanks for your suggestions.
@laroque Thank you, Tim. It's not expensive to enter, more the expense of printing and mounting but that's not too much either and I love the photo whether it is chosen for the competition or not, so I would have it to display when it's over. Thank you for your words of encouragement.
@razzmatazz Yep.. although since exploring Adobe this year I have found a lot of 'how to' videos on the internet that have helped. I think as long as you're having fun with your photography and doing what you like and feel comfortable with, that is all that matters.
@psychegrrrl@vstap Thank you, vstap! Michelle since joining the camera club I struggle to like to my photos anymore. I'm not sure I'll go back after the summer break for that reason. They are very kind there and helpful, but I hate that it makes me feel as though every photo has to be edited in some way to be "good enough." Part of me wants to just go back to taking pictures that I love without changing them, and part of me wants to learn how to do all that cool stuff. I'm torn.
Very engaging image, and your new edit makes a world of difference. I enter quilt contests, and win or lose, I learn something from the judging. Go for it!
Agree with crop and color tone/lighting tweaking. -- play around with rather extreme crops. It's really a great shot!!! Definitely worthy of entering in s contest! I would also like to see it in black and white. Wonderful photo! Most photos are taken in the camera and really made in post processing.
you felt like you could enter it so you must like it. I love it since you cropped it (although she is adorable and the first version was great too, I see what you saw that made you think you should enter it) do it. It pays to do something like this at least once and like you said you will frame it and have this beautiful memory to put on the wall or table to look at for a very long time!
@razzmatazz Oh if its making you feel that way don't do it. You've got to love what you do or whats the point. Just do your own thing and go at the pace that makes you happy. :)
The lighting is extremely difficult being so strongly backlit as it is, there should be more light on the face, or if that is not possible, on the eyes at least. That's why people have suggested editing it. To do a really proper editing job on this frame though you need more than Lightroom.
You could do more at the time of shooting too, and I think that's where you could easily do a lot better. You would do well to have had a reflector, or even a large white piece of cardboard pushing light into the face, you don't have to have anything fancy to start along this path. Someone to hold and angle it would work well. The ubiquitous photographer's assistant. :)
Also one other thing, the focus is just a little off, should be right on the eyes, and it does matter especially when you crop it.
The subject is most compelling, as you say, especially with the stray pokies around the edges removed. Enter it by all means, but make sure you have it printed at highest quality or it will turn out even softer from the printer.
Just some things to think about, hope the comments help. You did choose an extremely difficult light and place to technically execute it correctly. All the best as you travel along this photography path some more.
This is an interesting image! While I like your crop more than the original, it think it may be a mistake to crop this to portrait. This image begs for you to tell a story with it and the close portrait crop just doesnt do that IMHO.
I think youre better off keeping it landscape and cropping in from the upper right until its just over her head. This will put her to the far right of the image (you may even be able to get her eyes on the right 1/3 - yes when in doubt... rule of thirds). Keep the exposure changes etc - you need it to brighten the face, tone down the background and bring a little bit of texture into the black jacket. It also gives the image a slightly "colder" feel wih her looking out of the frame which probably seems to work more with the tone or the story of the image.
As with @frankhymus says, in the future it may be worthwhile to pay particular attention to focusing on the eyes to really grab the attention. From this image, it looks like the focus has slipped slightly and is focused on the hair. Maybe its an autofocus thing but this way you get to play with centre point focus or moving the focus around and learning to anticipate action. It takes a while but once you've nailed it, you'll find yourself sub consciously setting your camera and then consciously you can pay more attention to composition :)
It's a nice snap of your granddaughter but not competition-worthy, the lighting is poor, it isn't quite in focus and the composition isn't interesting. If you have to edit this much it probably means it needed thought when you was taking the photo in the first place. @frankhymus and @toast pretty much nailed it.
I think it's an awesome innocent pic and the edit here has improved it ... as with these wonderful captures it's such a pity you didn't have fill flash ... but I hope you recall the memory each time you look at the image.
@sidecar@razzmatazz I think a simple "fill flash" would not have accomplished what is needed. With the very strong backlighting a shutter faster than the x-synch speed of the camera (probably something like 1/200) is almost certainly needed, and you won't be able to achieve it. I think I remember the shutter here was 1/640 as it was. Basic fill flash with the built-in flash works fine in "shade" but seldom in open strong light. You need an adjunct flash/strobe (and a camera too) that can support fp-fast synch.
A very common complaint you read and hear with flash even on low power with strong background light, "No good, it is just too blown out." And it is not the flash, but that the camera will not set a shutter faster than the x-synch speed of the camera (or whatever "fastest" shutter you have set in the menu) with the flash active.
A reflector would of course work fine, but I believe you said this was not a prepared shot at all.
@frankhymus No, not prepared at all. She was running around the yard collecting Easter eggs and I was following. I have only just begun to stop using auto settings, and this was over a month ago so I was very new to manual settings. I continue to love it in spite of its flaws.
@frankhymus I agree - having been a shooter on Daydream Island (and being from Australia I'm sure you know what sunlight I'd be struggling with at the best of times not to mention shooting on Whitehaven OMGoodness!!!!!) - I had to quickly work out to shoot on manual with FEC but many togs new to using flash (on the hot shoe) have no idea about FEC thus having used the term fill flash very loosely.
But this was a candid pic and thus not prepared with flash.
@sidecar Your 5Dii and a hot shoe flash should be able to support fast synch, so you could shoot at any speed above the x-synch speed of the camera. Flash Settings camera menu - High Speed Synch. One of the more important basic reasons to go with a hot shoe flash... Besides being able to "off camera" the flash, essential for portraits.
@razzmatazz I woudlnt delete it from here if i were you.. this is your 365 project and looking back at it in a years time or so, you'll be able to see where you've come from. But also more than that.. this meant something to you at the time which is the important thing
@frankhymus yes absolutely.. you need to buy the flash for the camera. But i've used this flash in direct sun (off camera but its fine for on camera) for this image and had a shutter speed of 1/800 for ambient
@toast I deleted because I don't want a picture of my granddaughter on this site. I don't need it here in order to be able to look back at it as it's going to be hanging on my wall. Despite the negativity it's a beautiful picture and I love it.
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I'm from a camera club and regularly have competitions with judges comments - depending on who you have judging it - this is likely to be what they will say
You could do more at the time of shooting too, and I think that's where you could easily do a lot better. You would do well to have had a reflector, or even a large white piece of cardboard pushing light into the face, you don't have to have anything fancy to start along this path. Someone to hold and angle it would work well. The ubiquitous photographer's assistant. :)
Also one other thing, the focus is just a little off, should be right on the eyes, and it does matter especially when you crop it.
The subject is most compelling, as you say, especially with the stray pokies around the edges removed. Enter it by all means, but make sure you have it printed at highest quality or it will turn out even softer from the printer.
Just some things to think about, hope the comments help. You did choose an extremely difficult light and place to technically execute it correctly. All the best as you travel along this photography path some more.
I think youre better off keeping it landscape and cropping in from the upper right until its just over her head. This will put her to the far right of the image (you may even be able to get her eyes on the right 1/3 - yes when in doubt... rule of thirds). Keep the exposure changes etc - you need it to brighten the face, tone down the background and bring a little bit of texture into the black jacket. It also gives the image a slightly "colder" feel wih her looking out of the frame which probably seems to work more with the tone or the story of the image.
As with @frankhymus says, in the future it may be worthwhile to pay particular attention to focusing on the eyes to really grab the attention. From this image, it looks like the focus has slipped slightly and is focused on the hair. Maybe its an autofocus thing but this way you get to play with centre point focus or moving the focus around and learning to anticipate action. It takes a while but once you've nailed it, you'll find yourself sub consciously setting your camera and then consciously you can pay more attention to composition :)
A very common complaint you read and hear with flash even on low power with strong background light, "No good, it is just too blown out." And it is not the flash, but that the camera will not set a shutter faster than the x-synch speed of the camera (or whatever "fastest" shutter you have set in the menu) with the flash active.
A reflector would of course work fine, but I believe you said this was not a prepared shot at all.
But this was a candid pic and thus not prepared with flash.