[tkblueyonder]

Hiya people

this is a pic i took just after christmas and have had a mess about with it in PS, any ideas or feedback appreciated

[Charlotte]

I have to say first, tk, that I adore your avatar

This is a lovely shot. One problem for me, it's very high contrast, but mainly dark + sombre, which doesn't fit the subject matter, i.e. a toddler. In particular, his eyes have no detail. I do like the composition, eye contact, focusing + great use of DoF

[Boofers]

I'm with Charlotte on this one,,,I do like the very light creamy tint,,,,

[Geoff Semmens]

What are you trying to convey?

If it is the scariness of a child, the manipulation, the self-centredness etc then I think you have a pic that it some way to conveying this. If it is to show the niceness of the child then the comments are as above from Charlotte. High marks for the first and for a sideways approach to child photography but if it is the latter, I'm sorry, it is a low mark from me.

Take your pick.

Geoff TWO

[CathieT]

Definitely worth a little more work, especially on those eyes - which grab you right from the start!! If you could dodge in a little more detail it would be a great improvement!

PS - That's not Virtual Photographer's Reminiscing filter is it??

[skipper954]

Interesting image, but there are a few technical problems.

The overall image is too soft. There is too much contrast between his right side of the face which in nearly blown, and his left, which is partially hidden in shadow.

From a posing point of view, I personally don't like to photograph kids when they are eating or have their hands near their mouth. Mouths are very much like eyes, and in addition they are needed to convey emotion and complete the picture.

Though lord knows, that may be the only time they are still enough to get a pic

From an emotional point of view, I get the feeling that although he is involved with the camera, he is rather defiant and perhaps a bit angry. And if that is the case, the image would be better served by a very sharply focused shot.

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[fionaB]

i like this and the soft focus works well . as has already been said the eyes pose a problem. perhaps lighting the right one a little and adding a catch light to the eye would lift it a bit

Fi

[Charlotte]

I don't particularly see anger or definance in this shot, + I think the impression of anger/defiance comes solely from the dark, sombre lighting I see a toddler eating his dinner (or whatever meal) pausing briefly to look up at the camera as if you'd purposely attracted his attention to get eye contact. Simple as that. I do like the soft focus + think it works well for kiddie shots in general. I just think the contrast needs toning down + bring out more detail in the eyes, + remove the distracting black patch in the BG at top RH corner, otherwise I like it + don't see anything sinister (mood-wise) here at all.

[Rob Barron]

This is a pleasant enough shot.... ish!

The thing I would say quite firmly here is: 'Never try making up for deficiences in a picture with Photoshop[. Go take it again!' I am not meaning to sound harsh, I am just saying that it is pretty clear that in the original, the side of the lad's face was either blown out or as close as makes no difference. The eyes, especially the left eye, is in such a dark area that balancing it out has proven difficult. I would have used a reflector to push light into the darker side of the face to balance it out a bit as side-lit shots invariably suffer from this problem.

This lad has a lovely face and if I were you I'd be on to his mum to ask for a proper session with him. I reckon you'd get some real crackers to show us tk

Cheers,
Rob

[Boofers]

I am still with Charlotte on this, I think this picture conveys happiness,,,maybe I have been around to many kids and see that for the most part, most kids are pretty happy, atleast if they look like this one,,,life is great, give the kid a glass of cocoa.

[tkblueyonder]

Thank you for all of your feedback people its allways nice to have constructive criticsm on ones work or how are we expected to get better so many thanks to all of you

PS ... Rob i dont hve to ask permission from his mum because im his dad although i have a biast view but i have to agree he has a superb face for photography its a joy to get him in front of the camera now all i have to do is work out how to get him to sit still!

Another i posted a few months back

[skipper954]

Hi Terry

I like this image of your son much better. The focus seems a bit soft, but I suspect that is in the compression.

Just a hint here. Make your longest side 800 px and the total size just under 200K. That will give max viewing and minimum compression artifact.

I like the crop and his look. My only downside here is the mildly blown highlight on his right side. If you have ps cs2, they have a lovely shadow/highlight fixer-upper.

But those things not withstanding, I really like this shot.

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