First Post: Picture of My Daughter

harrylew

Hi, all,

OK, I sucked up my courage and decided to post my first picture.

This is a pic of my daughter. She has been my photography muse ever since her birth in 2000. Although I've slowed down a bit of late (she's 7 now), I still enjoy shooting portraits of her (when she lets me!). My shooting style is mostly opportunistic. I just watch for good light and interesting action or poses and then fire away. I'd like to get more proactive and envision shots before I take them, but that's been hard to accomplish.

When not shooting my daughter, I really enjoy landscape and nature photography, as well as general travel pics. I've been a long-time Minolta (film cameras) and now Sony (DSLR) user and have a lot of lenses (too many). But that's a story for my psychiatrist.

Anyway, I'd love to hear your thoughts about my picture. It was shot on film with a 50 1/7 lens.

Thanks, all.

RBrogen

Harry...what an adorable daughter you have...that's a great picture. It does appear thoght that there may have been some camera shake or something that caused it to be slightly blurry. Overall a great job!!

urbanaries

I love this!!!
Adorable capture, gosh isn't she a CUTIE!!! She reminds me of a little Drew Barrymore. The image feels timeless, could have been shot in the 70s or today.

I think it looks pretty sharp for film. Our tolerance for softness has decreased I think with the advent of digital.

The skintones look a bit red though, which makes me wonder if this was shot on Velvia? That can certainly be fixed though in digital! Ah the best of both worlds....:D

yoyostock

urbanaries wrote:

Our tolerance for softness has decreased I think with the advent of digital.

I agree, I think the fuzziness in the picture is just right...it's more realistic in that it's kinda similar to what we see with our eyes...unless of course there are folks out there who can see in ultra-sharp focus. I also like the green on green.

RBrogen

urbanaries wrote:

Adorable capture, gosh isn't she a CUTIE!!! She reminds me of a little Drew Barrymore. The image feels timeless, could have been shot in the 70s or today.

I think it looks pretty sharp for film. Our tolerance for softness has decreased I think with the advent of digital.

The skintones look a bit red though, which makes me wonder if this was shot on Velvia? That can certainly be fixed though in digital! Ah the best of both worlds....:D

You are so right urbanaries....you know there was something I couldn't put my finger on when I first saw the shot and it does look like Drew Barrymore! lol I can't wait to start shooting with my new gear ...wooohooo

jeffreaux2

What an adorable young lady!!!

...and a great picture as well.

Thanks for sharing.

Elaine

Very sweet shot, for sure! Hope you share more!

Welcome to DGrin!

ChrisJ

What a great expression! Welcome to dGrin!

Chrissiebeez_NL

lovely photo! welcome!

harrylew

Thanks, Randy
Hi, Randy,

Thanks for the kind words, Randy. I really appeciate it!

I deliberately used, I believe, f2.8, in order to blur her face and hair a bit. Plus the background is very blurry due to the same wide aperture. But if you look at her eyes, which I focused on, they're pretty sharp.

For kicks, I did a slightly sharper version (below). It does give a little more definition around her mouth and face, and I might like this version more. Still has an overall soft look, which I like. What do you think of the sharper version?

Thanks again.

RBrogen wrote:

there may have been some camera shake or something that caused it to be slightly blurry. Overall a great job!!

harrylew

Urbanaries. . . thanks!
Wow . . . I'll have to tell my wife of your Drew Barrymoore comment! That's a comparison I would have never imagined, but now that you mention it . . .

Yes, it was a tad too red. But I wasn't shooting Velvia. I believe it was Fuji Superia 400, processed at Wally World, which often doesn't get color right. At your suggestion, I toned the red down in the version below. This is an edit of the original posted photo, not the sharpened one I just did for Randy.

Is this better?

Thanks again for the nice comment about my daughter.

[QUOTE=The skintones look a bit red though, which makes me wonder if this was shot on Velvia? That can certainly be fixed though in digital! Ah the best of both worlds....:D[/QUOTE]

harrylew

Thanks, Yoyostock
The green on green aspect is my second most favorite element of this photo. The first is her expression.

yoyostock wrote:

I agree, I also like the green on green.

harrylew

Thanks, all!
Wow . . . you've all been very welcoming and constructive with your comments. I think I like this place!