mariposa84 Loc: Rochester NY

I am having a difficult time critiquing my work on these shots... its my baby girl. I realize that i have cut off some of her chin and head in the first shot and even more in the second. She is 3 years old and was walking toward me when i took the pictures (she won't stand still for me even with bribery). In a beginner photography class I took on portraiture i remember it being said that in some cases its OKAY to cut some parts off. Do any of you agree with this statement if yes do either of these photos come close? I have NOT cropped them this is just what i was able to capture.

35mm f/1.8 1/60 sec lighting from a window

(Download)

same as above

(Download)

djtravels Loc: Georgia boy now

The second one is too tight on a beautiful little girl. Give yourself some wiggle room and crop to suit in PP. Tough lighting conditions, having to shoot @ f/1.8.

mariposa84 Loc: Rochester NY

Thank you that is what i was afraid of with the second one the smile is killer and i love the eyes but i was unsure if the crop killed it... unfortunately as I said she was walking toward me and all i had on on was my 35 mm prime so i was stuck either catch the smile or risk losing a moment. :(

dirtpusher Loc: tulsa oklahoma

1
for me

pgr Loc: Alabama

#1 for me but would like to see more light on her face.
Cute little girl. :)

ecobin Loc: Paoli, PA

Here's what I see:
1. A very beautiful little girl - be very proud!
2. The eyes should be tack sharp but are not - always focus on the eyes.
3. Cutting off top of head is common and in some circles artistic but do not cut off the chin.
4. The white balance is a little cold - try a gray card or expodisc especially when indoors and using more than one light source.

Great subject and model for your photography - keep it coming.

Apaflo Loc: Anchorage, Alaska

Lets think out of the box for a bit.

First, there are all variety of "Rules of Thumb", many that contradict others. They are all guildlines, and may or may not be helpful.

What you have to do, with each and every image, is decide exactly what is the "subject", and whatever is not precisely that then becomes just another "visual symbol". Every symbol relates to the subject, more or less. If any give symbol is a distraction it needs to be adjusted in some way that lessens the distraction. If it can't actually help the viewer understand the subject, it needs to be removed. If something that would help more doesn't have enough prominence, it needs to be brought out more.

That is in great part what we do when originally composing an image in the camera's viewfinder. We move this way or that way to position everything "just right". In post processing we can clone things out of the image, and we can make things lighter or darker, sharper or not. And just as when originally setting up we can crop the image too.

You've got a couple tough images to work on for some very nice reasons. It's your kid! She doesn't look like a handful of "visual symbols" to you... You didn't mind cropping down to just her, but past that it's a sacrilege, almost. Get over it... be ruthless, it's a photograph and isn't reality.

Think about this. On the top image try cropping along a horizontal line that is just below her teeth, cutting off the bottom lip. On the second image it's almost the same, but crop just above her upper lip, or perhaps just a hair below the lip and allowing virtually no teeth to show. Hmmmm...

What is the subject? It isn't her, it's the life and the light of her eyes. Her smile is wonderful it's true, but it just detracts from those eyes!

kubota king Loc: NW , Pa.

Although I agree with a lot of what was said already .And in your heart you already knew the answer to your question .I would hang on to them until you get the shots you want . They after all , still put a smile on your face , and warmth in your heart I bet.Tommy

mariposa84 Loc: Rochester NY

Thank you for looking and commenting.

mariposa84 Loc: Rochester NY

I didn't think to use the on camera flash but your right if i had attached the flash and done some bounce lighting it would probably have looked even better... next time :)

QuickShooter101 Loc: East

I agree with Tommy .A lot of photos I take are not perfect in my eyes because I judge them pretty hard . But I keep a lot of them any ways just to remember the moment .

mariposa84 Loc: Rochester NY

1) Thank you I am :D
2) The one eye is tack sharp but because of the f/1.8 the other eye is not i may have gotten away with a little higher aperture but she doesn't allow time for fiddling with settings lol
3)thank you will keep this in mind
4)thank you will try to remember to do this
Thank you for looking and commenting i very much appreciate it.

mariposa84 Loc: Rochester NY

I loved your explanation i have never heard it explained it that way before and it made PERFECT sense to me! Thank you i enclosed the edits that you suggested ...it hurt a little to crop out that smile but after i did i didn't really miss it LOL! Again thank you for taking the time to look and comment to help me.

No bottom lip :)


no smile

(Download)

mariposa84 Loc: Rochester NY

i don't know how this got posted twice sorry.

mariposa84 Loc: Rochester NY

Thank you i won't be putting these in the recycle bin just yet but i want to be able to get those higher quality images so i can be proud of the capture and not just the subject :) thank you for looking and commenting!