Really new, and just wanting feedback on a pic.....

KristineDurkin79

So....I am new on here, and tired of getting the same old feedback from my friends and family on my pics. You know..."oh wow...your amazing...looks great...." No one tells me what I need to change, if anything...so I figured I'd come here. Anything I can do to make this pic better? The only adjustment I did on this photo is fix the exposure a teeny bit....other than that its sooc...Thanks so much!

Bryce Wilson

I like the even lighting.

The first thing that jumps out at me is the boys fingers are cut off and his hand is flat to the camera. Some people, this doesn't bother, but it does bother me, I'm just weird that way. You could have moved his elbow back a bit and repositioned the hand and solved both problems at once.

I'd like to see a bit more blur to the background too. It's a bit busy.

All in all though, it's a nice photograph.

cab.in.boston

I'm no expert, but what jumps out at me other than the aforementioned cut off fingers is that the image is a little soft (preferably would be sharper on the kids eyes), they're dead center, and he has a post growing out of his head.

The expressions are super cute, although she's not quite looking into the camera. The lighting and exposure look good to me. I'd say it's a very nice snapshot of what appear to be two very loving siblings (or cousins, or...), but it could use more to get into the "print it big and hang it on the wall" category.

If your subjects are willing, the fun part is getting more practice and then going back over time to see your improvements!

System

What the the others have said and for me, the fence in the background makes the photo look crooked.

Photogbiker

Good points made so far. Couple more thoughts.

One thing I've picked up here and from others is to look all around your viewfinder. Don't get focused on the faces and miss the post out of the head. Maybe you would have seen the washed out sky and moved to your left getting more trees in the background and curing the post issue too? Let your eye move around before clicking the shutter.

Might also consider a pop of flash in these outdoor shots. Even 1 or 2 stops under ambient would have opened up the eyes maybe.

Try cropping. Since you have a cut finger and 'post in head' issue, maybe a super tight crop of just the faces is the way to go? Also cuts busy background, then if you want to do some cloning or burning it is less area.

Play with exposure a bit more in PS. I am a beginner in PS or LR, but I'll bet you could give it a bit more pop with curves and some saturation.

Very nice shot. With willing models (and bribes) you can get a lot of practice and experimenting. Keep going.

KristineDurkin79

See...this is why I brought it here...lol...I knew I would get some straight answers.

Bryce~I hate the cut off fingers too...luckily, we have another shoot planned, and I will get the chance to fix stuff like that.

cab.in.boston~to be honest...I never noticed the post growing from his head... obviously that shows how much of an amateur I am..definitely going to fix that.

captain78~they are sitting on the top steps of a gazebo...I'm not sure how else to make the picture not feel crooked...any ideas?

photogbiker~I am going to try out cropping it and see what happens...I never thought of doing that because I liked the sweet hug this older brother was giving to his sister....to be honest, this whole pose was his idea...

Molotov Everything

Well I'm assuming that gazebo is an octagon, and in that photo they're sitting at one of the vertices.
Having them move 30 degrees or so to one side would put them in between two of the posts that are at each vertex. Then, for one thing a post wouldn't be coming out the back of the boy's head, and the railing behind would only be on one angle. That's what makes the first one look crooked is the two pieces of the railing coming in at different angles. I think moving them to the right so the trees are behind them might look better than over exposed sky as the background. And more background blur wouldn't hurt either. But the pose is really nice and the exposure on the kids is great.

dsloan

Photogbiker wrote: »

the post out of the head.

This is what first jumped out at me. When I was first starting, this was something I ran into very often and have since tried to avoid it at all costs. It can be hard, though, especially if you're just trying to get a quick candid shot rather than a fully posed portrait.

W.W. Webster

KristineDurkin79 wrote: »

Anything I can do to make this pic better?

The post growing out of the boy's head might have been avoided!

Andee

Things looking crooked in an images can come with shooting around fence and anything that shows a straight edge such as buildings /architecture etc. One small lean and things can look crooked. Thing is to try to pick a spot and a set up that will not interfere as much when working with younger ones that might move quickly on you. You may have to act quickly or miss a great expression. All the tips are good things to keep an eye on but when all else fails make sure you get a great expression and then make any adjustments on placement after that for any other images. JMO tho.

zoomer

You are willing to learn and that is half the battle.
Choose your backgrounds first, see the composition in your head and then place your subject into the frame.
Once you start doing that you will make quick improvement.
There is more wrong with this photo than right, good advice has already been given.

Learn how to do levels adjusments and contrast and sharpening. This shot is pretty dull looking.

Keep posting for critique and you will learn really fast.

Ed911

zoomer wrote: »

Learn how to do levels adjustments and contrast and sharpening. This shot is pretty dull looking. Keep posting for critique and you will learn really fast.

My thoughts exactly...this is a very bland looking photo...nice image...but it could be so much more. Having a camera is one thing...learning what a nice photo looks like is an entirely other thing. It's what separates the photographers from snap shooters. Having a vision for your finished product is what it's all about.

Stick around here...look at as many images as you can that are similar to what you like to shoot...and pretty soon you'll see an interesting processing and ask yourself, how do I do that...and then you will know that you are on your way.