People Photography Photo Critique
Lucas
by CELIA RIVERA
Views: 1786
Category: People Photography
Canon Digital Rebel XSi
Lens: Zoom: Variable focal
Exposure time: 1/200 ,
F-stop: F5.6
ISO: 400
Flash: Mounted
Tripod: No
Description: Trying to get my nephews attention proved almost impossible while he was watching his see all >
Trying to get my nephews attention proved almost impossible while he was watching his favorite show on tv. I decided to take this pic in his natural state of total absorption.
Photo Critique Summary
Subject of photo
10
Composition & Perspective
8
Focus
8
Use of camera, exposure & speed
9
Color & Lighting
7
Depth of field
9
General impression
8
Overall Rating
8.4
GuruShots Pro
Subject of photo:
10
Celia, Your nephew has the face of an angel!
Composition & Perspective:
8
I like that you got down low for the photo. Two things that might improve the composition: You might make a little more use of the 'negative space' by placing his head further to the right of the frame. That way, the viewer can follow his gaze forward, rather than having the empty space behind. Also, try to remember the 'Rule of Thirds' by dividing your composition into thirds (think Tic Tac Toe) and placing your subject in the outer thirds of the frame and never exactly in the middle. By combining the Rule of Thirds effectively with the negative space, your compositions will be much more interesting. Also, it couldn't have hurt to come in just a little closer.
Focus:
8
Focus is good, although I think it might be just a little better to have focused on Lucas' left eye, the eye closer to the camera. The depth of field would likely have carried focus to the other eye. Depth of field is always just a little longer on the far side of the focal point.
Use of camera, exposure & speed:
9
Use of camera, exposure and speed is good. Bumping the ISO to 400 might have allowed you to use a faster shutter speed, higher aperture or both for just a little more sharpness. Most modern digital cameras will go to a higher ISO without compromising the image too much.
Color & Lighting:
7
I like your use of bounce flash, but the color balance on your photo is a little puzzling. It lacks in saturation, but is not quite black and white. And the skin tones are too blue - probably from the cast of the television or the flash. Getting color right is not easy, but the tools provided on most cameras and software make it easier. This is why I recommend that you always shoot in RAW format ~ fixing the color balance in software is easy and will not have the negative effects of trying to fix a JPEG image. I suggest you experiment with white balancing in the software of your choice (I love Adobe Lightroom, but Photoshop and Photoshop Elements have white balance adjustments, as does the software that likely came with your camera). Make a duplicate file of your image and play around a little.
Depth of field:
9
Nice depth of field, my comments under Focus not withstanding.
General impression:
8
I nice photograph of a very cute child which, in my opinion, would benefit from a little better composition, cropping and color correction.
How to improve your photo
1.
Getting a more pleasing color balance will go a long way in making this photo better. There are lots of free resources on the internet such as http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/whitebalance.htm.
2.
Try to remember the Rule of Thirds and other compositional elements when framing your subjects.
3.
Always focus on the eyes. That's what most viewers will look at first.
Get feedback on your photos from Pro Steve Hockstein