CC Please!

[CaseyS]

Hey all! I need some cc puh-lease! I'm new to all of this and would like some honest feedback. All I get from the people in my life is "Oh! That's great!" But I can't learn from that. Soooo let me have it!! What did I do right? What did I do wrong? What can I do better?

[AllenAyres]

You'll get better results asking for CC if you limit the # of photos to a few and the subject to 1 or 2, otherwise we see something about a couple but then forget by the time we get to the end :)

For the initial baby pictures - be sure and include the booty, mama's want to see the pudgy bottoms. You don't have to for all of them, but at least for some. They're a touch underexposed too, bringing up the exposure will help smooth out the blotchiness babies have.

The others are a bit underexposed too - I wouldn't necessarily change camera settings but adding a little pop of flash will freeze the subject and make them crisper and a bit brighter. If you used flash (I do see some sparkle in their eyes), bump it up a bit.

[CaseyS]

Fixed it!

[DoublyDan]

I think the eye lashes should be a little sharper in the baby images.
Maybe your aperture is a little too wide open try f5.6 or f8. You may have to increase your light source/ bring in closer if you do this to get the same/more amount of light in.
Good start though.

[marcq]

i found the images soft.. work on your focus. :)

[AllenAyres]

Originally Posted by DoublyDan

I think the eye lashes should be a little sharper in the baby images.
Maybe your aperture is a little too wide open try f5.6 or f8. You may have to increase your light source/ bring in closer if you do this to get the same/more amount of light in.
Good start though.

I like the narrow depth of field (especially in infant photography like this), tho the focus point (usually the eyelashes) do need to be sharper. Shooting at 1/25th is probably where you are getting a little camerashake blur - usually if your shutter speed is equal to your focal length or better (in this case 1/50th or faster) you'll have less problem with camerashake. Bump your ISO to compensate for faster shutter speed.

At 1/25th, you are likely getting a little movement from the subject blurring your focus a bit too. A little pop of flash (if you aren't going for a natural light look) will help freeze the subject.

[CaseyS]

My images being soft seems to be a recurring thing for me. I need to work on that.

Honestly, I'm scared of my flash. All I have is my on camera flash and I almost never use it because I don't like the results I get. I've looked in to buying one but I was thinking that I need to learn how to use the equipment I have correctly before purchasing more. Thoughts?

CaseyS added 2 Minutes and 28 Seconds later...Double Post Merged Below

On a side note, seeing the images on here makes that logo look a bit overwhelming! I need to make that thing smaller!! :)

[AllenAyres]

I wouldn't make the logo smaller... makes it easier for people to just crop it out. It's not obtrusive.

Your images could be sharper without adding flash. You need to work on getting shutter speed correct to help with camera shake/ subject movement.

[CaseyS]

Originally Posted by AllenAyres

The others are a bit underexposed too - I wouldn't necessarily change camera settings but adding a little pop of flash will freeze the subject and make them crisper and a bit brighter. If you used flash (I do see some sparkle in their eyes), bump it up a bit.

This is why I was asking about the flash.

On the color photo, I added a blur to blur out her girly parts. You think it's over the top? I can't decide if I like it or not.

[Digigeek]

Tripod plus faster shutter speed = crisper images at the point of focus.

What lens? Are you using a good, sharp lens that provides good contrast?

Also, if you are adding blur, do it gently and selectively (not on the face for example).

[CaseyS]

The 50/1.8. The only other lens I have is the kit lens and I haven't used it since I bought the 50/1.8.

[Digigeek]

Try stopping it down to f2.0, f2.2, or f2.8 to get the face sharp. And, use a tripod and shutter speed of at least 1/100. If the kid's squirming, use 1/250.

[marcq]

Originally Posted by CaseyS

This is why I was asking about the flash.

On the color photo, I added a blur to blur out her girly parts. You think it's over the top? I can't decide if I like it or not.

i see. it's ok to add blur but make sure to erase (the blur) part of the face especially the eyes. For portraits shot, the eyes are very important to be focused.

marcq added 1 Minutes and 14 Seconds later...Double Post Merged Below

By the way what lens did you used for these shots ?

[MicWayWal]

Casey,

Overall
The images are too soft looking and don't have a good range of tones. I would not be shooting with such a wide aperture when you are so close to your subject using this 50mm lens. It creates too soft a look for portraits. f/4 or f/5.6 would be better. A higher shutter speed would have been better to eliminate camera shake or put it on a tripod. I would bump your ISO up to 800 or so if you can't get more light on your subject.

#1 I don't like the fingers under the head. They are disconnected from the body and look out of place. Retouch the cloth to cover the fingers. I would also crop closer. The body goes on and doesn't have a good end.


#2 The eyes are too close to the edge of the frame to be looking off the page. The eyes need to be more centered overall to pull off this pose. I don't like the leg rising up on the right. The eyes have no highlights in them and have no life in them.

#3 Best image in my opinion but some work needs to be done on the skin to smooth it out. Notice how the fingers under the face in this image is connected to the body, this is better than #1.

#4 This image is just painful for me to look at. The body is all contorted and looks like it is twisted up

[CaseyS]

Thanks for your feedback.

Honestly, it was one of those situations where I thought the same things but when you show the people around you a baby picture all they see is a baby so I started second guessing myself wondering if I was just being very critical.

The mom is a good friend of mine so I may see if I can borrow her baby and try again!