Ava - Please critique

brianward81

Hey guys,

Long time reader, first time poster.
Here's my first attempt at processing a RAW file of one of my favorite photos of my daughter (4 months at the time, 6 months now). I'm after critiques and criticisms (both the shot itself and processing).

It was shot with a Canon 40D at 1/320, F/2.8, ISO 400 with a Sigma 24-70 lens. I used Lightroom 2.0 to process and am only using an uncalibrated laptop monitor. I'd like to know how this looks on some decent monitors.

I can post a smaller version later but this file is 7 meg big (I'm impatient to get some feedback!)

Ava

Here is a smaller version that I very quickly edited after I'd taken the shot;

Maribel&Ava.jpg

Please see the download link, Ava, for the version I want you guys to critique me on.

Thanks in advance,

Brian

adbsgicom

There's a profile somewhere that isn't coming along for the ride. When I opened your likn, the baby's outfit is VERY PINK, and in this picture here it is much more muted. So, I'm not sure which picture's color you want comments on. I think the 'right' color is the one in this post. You may have some different color profiles that didn't export to sRGB in the full-sized image.

Sweet picture; happy baby!!

Little nits: the eyese seem soft. Looking at full res, I can't tell if it is focus or moisture in the eye. Your DOF is very shallow. The left eye (as I look at it) is definately out of focus, and the right one is one the edge. You might want to clone out some of the little pieces of schmutz, like the little bit of boogie on the nose.

Enjoy your little one. They do grow up fast....

brianward81

adbsgicom wrote:

There's a profile somewhere that isn't coming along for the ride. When I opened your likn, the baby's outfit is VERY PINK, and in this picture here it is much more muted. So, I'm not sure which picture's color you want comments on. I think the 'right' color is the one in this post. You may have some different color profiles that didn't export to sRGB in the full-sized image.

Sweet picture; happy baby!!

Little nits: the eyese seem soft. Looking at full res, I can't tell if it is focus or moisture in the eye. Your DOF is very shallow. The left eye (as I look at it) is definately out of focus, and the right one is one the edge. You might want to clone out some of the little pieces of schmutz, like the little bit of boogie on the nose.

Enjoy your little one. They do grow up fast....

Thanks for the feedback, adbsgicom. Yeah - I had a bad habit of leaving the aperture wide open while indoors to make sure the shutterspeed didn't need to be so long. Most of the shots of my daughter aren't prepared, I'll just grab my camera and start snapping. But after learning to shoot in manual and learning a bit more about light I've been able to take quick snaps a little better (a little, baby steps - pun clearly intended).

After viewing this shot at work I could see that I definitely oversaturated the pink (you can even see some of it in her ear!) and the skin tone isn't what it looked like on my laptop. Oh, to have an Eizo monitor (and a bucket load more experience). I'll just have to make sure I edit on my crappy, but better than the laptop, monitor and make sure to grab those boogers too.

I recently did a glamour-ish shoot for a makeup artists' website; http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=140987
I did the editing for that on my computer and I think I was able to see get a better - no boogers on their noses!

adbsgicom

The main thing is to calibrate your monitors so that red is red and white is white. Get a decent calibrator and you will be a long way toward having consistent colors. I use a Sypder3Elite, but the i2 Display is also well regarded. There are some others, too that I have no experience with.

Ed911

Nice shot... and good advice from the previous posters.

Try this in black and white. I do this type of shot...usually looking out a window or door through venetian blinds or other difussed window treatments. The light fall off is more dramatic and the shadows are really nice.

Thanks for sharing.