A Mothers Comfort

elfving73

Hello friends!

Had a cup of coffiee with my neighbours yesterday in our yard. Our kids were playing together and having fun, but suddenly something happend and Vendela came sobbing, seeking comfort from mom. I quickly and secretly hoisted my cam and snapped a candid. I used the power of the 70-300 to get in real close without interfering! )
I guess it's obvious that I gave her mom a little make over, but did I overdo it? Does it look very very unnaturall? :dunno

Regards / Matty




Here is the original:
(hmm... looking at it again, I wonder if I don't prefer the original?)

gluwater

I really like the B&W better but I think you went a little to far with touching up her face. I do like that you got rid of the hairs from in front of her face. This is a really great shot Matty.

Richard

You sure know how to make the most of childhood accidents, Matty. I like the B&W and the toning but yes, I think you overdid it on the cleanup. Her skin looks as smooth as the kid's. Leaving a few signs of wear might make this a stronger image. To me, the disheveled hair adds to the feeling of distress, though I can also see the advantage of eliminating it. I just love the way you got a glimpse of the kid's right eye. Excellent capture.

Regards,

graflexTom

I need to say that I am most taken by the Cleaned up photo. I think that it rocks

Mr. 2H2O

Matty,
I like the way the B&W clean up forces me to focus on the Mom's eyes, then pull back and see the whole expression. I would say the blown hair and facial lines would distract from the eyes as a focal point. Her eyes express everything you described about the situation to the point that I really didn't need to read the background.

elfving73

Thank you! Yes, I guess I got a bit carried away in the pp! : But I guess it depends, if it was taken as a portrait of her, for her, then I wouldn't have touched her up this much. :

Matty

gluwater wrote:

I really like the B&W better but I think you went a little to far with touching up her face. I do like that you got rid of the hairs from in front of her face. This is a really great shot Matty.

elfving73

Haha! Thank you! Yes, who said accidents isn't fun and great? *Haha* Na, just kidding! I guess you are right about, I did clean her up a little to much, atleast if it's supposed to be a portrait of her.

rsinmadrid wrote:

You sure know how to make the most of childhood accidents, Matty. I like the B&W and the toning but yes, I think you overdid it on the cleanup. Her skin looks as smooth as the kid's. Leaving a few signs of wear might make this a stronger image. To me, the disheveled hair adds to the feeling of distress, though I can also see the advantage of eliminating it. I just love the way you got a glimpse of the kid's right eye. Excellent capture.

Regards,

elfving73

Thank you! :

graflexTom wrote:

I need to say that I am most taken by the Cleaned up photo. I think that it rocks

Flyinggina

It looks lovely and not "very very" unnatural at all. I like that you removed the hair from in front of the mom's face because her eyes are important to the picture. You might want to add in a bit more "character" to her face but, all in all, I like the b&w as is.

Virginia

cmason

I love the first version, but the eyes don't quite look natural...under them it is completely smooth..I would make the corrections in a layer, then change the opacity just a bit to get some lines there that are expressive, but not aging.