Just would like a critique of this image: I was shot from the bull pen, down the third base line, of a little girl leaning over the fence watching outfielders warm up prior to an ASU...

DavidPhares Loc: Chandler, Arizona

I was shot from the bull pen, down the third base line, of a little girl leaning over the fence watching outfielders warm up prior to an ASU Sun Devil Baseball game. I offered to send the image to her dad who was watching. I gave him my card, but he never contacted me for that purpose. Go figure.

Candid shot of little girl at a baseball game

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

DavidPhares wrote:

I was shot from the bull pen, down the third base line, of a little girl leaning over the fence watching outfielders warm up prior to an ASU Sun Devil Baseball game. I offered to send the image to her dad who was watching. I gave him my card, but he never contacted me for that purpose. Go figure.

Very nice shot. The father was probably trying to avoid a "hard sell."

tmrawshooter Loc: Tampa, FL

Nice capture of the little girl. The same thing happened to me not long ago, ironically, at a baseball park next to my house. I fired off a few really nice shots of a mom holding her young daughter while watching the BB game and offered to send her the shots via email free of charge. Gave her my card and got no response. I guess some people are either totally ungrateful for our good intentions or too stupid or lazy to send a simple "Thank you or no thank you" note to those making a kind-hearted gesture. Keep shooting and don't let stupid-lazy people stop you from enjoying life and at least TRYING to do a good deed. Cheers, Terry

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

tmrawshooter wrote:

Nice capture of the little girl. The same thing h... (show quote)

I think people are just afraid to "get involved" with a guy with a camera - someone they don't know. There are a lot of creeps out there. When I see someone broken down on the side of the road, I no longer stop to offer help. I don't want to frighten anyone.

Country's Mama Loc: Michigan

I like the concentration on her face. The one distraction is the streak of white in the upper left hand corner. I wish her face was lighted a little differently, but you can't control that in a candid. It would have been nice if her face had been turned just a little into the light adding a little more light to her face.
Her dad doesn't know what he turned down. It is a very nice picture.

tmrawshooter Loc: Tampa, FL

I agree Jerry! There are a lot of creeps out there and I suppose most people don't want to increase their chances of running into them. "Defensive measures" we'd call them. Thanks for showing "the other side of the coin." (But it IS frustrating to make someone a free and innocent - no strings attached offer and they don't even respond. It's the world we're living in today.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

tmrawshooter wrote:

I agree Jerry! There are a lot of creeps out there and I suppose most people don't want to increase their chances of running into them. "Defensive measures" we'd call them. Thanks for showing "the other side of the coin." (But it IS frustrating to make someone a free and innocent - no strings attached offer and they don't even respond. It's the world we're living in today.

Right. I'm even hesitant to take pictures of strangers on the street, especially kids.

LLucas Loc: Upstate South Carolina, USA

Your candids are great. Don't let the turkeys get you down, as people are more suspicious these days.
I agree with Country's Mama about the white streak in the upper left. 'A little distracting from the beautiful child.

tmrawshooter Loc: Tampa, FL

I agree with some of you that the white area is somewhat distracting. If you're a PShop user one of my favorite clean up tricks is to use "Content Aware" as an easy replacement/clean up method. Here's how:

1. Make a selection using your favorite selection tool(Rectangular, Elliptical Marquee Tool, etc.)
2. Right mouse click
3. Select "Content Aware" from the drop down menu and watch your white spot or whatever selection you've made magically disappear and replaced neatly and completely by the surrounding pixels / areas.

I used to like using the Clone tool ALOT but since finding out about Content Aware I rarely use it anymore. It's easier, faster and does a MUCH BETTER job than the clone tool. If you're a PS user you won't regret using this method.

Finally, the focus of the photo is definitely on the little girl and not the white spot above. Perfection is almost always illusively waiting right around the corner:)

DavidPhares Loc: Chandler, Arizona

Just so you know, this was just before a late afternoon college baseball game. She was leaning over the rail down the 3rd base line. That is that white line you see. It reaches all the way from the left field corner to home plate.

The sun was actually at her back, and she is facing due East, the light came from overhead stadium lighting. Not much I can do about that in candid sots of kids.

Thanks for your observations, though, they gave me a chance to explain the scene a little further. Her dad, for any reason, really missed the boat!

tmrawshooter Loc: Tampa, FL

10-4 Dave - as I said it's a NICE shot with or without the white fence. If you are a Photoshop user I would still encourage you to try that Content Aware trick on ANY shot that has some unwanted extras. It's great for removing tree branches, power lines or any distracting features you want removed.

One other thought that just came to me was that this shot might also be a nice candidate for B & W conversion.

Thanks for the extra explanation and...Happy Shooting my friend!

DavidPhares Loc: Chandler, Arizona

Here ya go.

Do you know if that PS option is found in PS Elements?

David

B&W little girl at the baseball game via SnapSeed on my iPad

tmrawshooter Loc: Tampa, FL

I really like the B & W version better because by removing the colors, it seems to breaks the photo down into its most basic elements - the little girl watching a game. Everything else (including the colors) is secondary to the message.

Sorry I can't help you with Elements. I haven't used it in quite a few years as I generally use PS6, Lightroom (V5) and a plug-in or two like Silver Efex Pro which gives amazing B & W capabilities including a number of presets that are easy to manipulate to desired effects that Photoshop and others just can't beat. If you ever decide to upgrade to PS, "Silver Efex Pro" is a MUST HAVE plug-in for B&W work. Here's an example:

Old Man Walking - Original

(Download)

Old Man Walking - Silver EfexPro

(Download)

GrabBass1 Loc: Menifee, CA

Like the color version best. Great capture of a very nice moment. The white streak really did not distract me until it was mentioned here and now I see it right away so probably a good idea to clone it out somehow. The shallow depth of field, however, is a nice feature here that tends to draw your attention to the child. Maybe a bit of a crop would be nice?
If this was my little girl I would want this on my wall. Very nice photo.

DavidPhares Loc: Chandler, Arizona

Thank you to you all. The editing suggestions are excellent and I will try them. Have a good week.

David