Today I am soliciting feedback on a photo. This is another Linky thingy where an amateur photographer can get feedback on photos from those who know what the hell they are doing, unlike me.
Since we are in vacation shut down mode here in Argentina, I have been playing around with GM’s Cannon Rebel EOS Xti and editing with PSE7. So below find the original photo that I would love feed back on. Unfortunately, I wasn’t tracking my settings but I did not use a flash. Light source was a reading lamp.
Then I cropped and sharpened it within a inch of its life. I screwed around with the various levels, specifically skin tone, but couldn’t seem to do better than Smart Fix which is what you see below. I think its a little cold but I like that you get the purple from the sheets. I was hoping to soften the white light coming from the lamp and give texture to the bed. Any ideas?
3 responses so far ↓
Andrea // 10 July, 2009 at 4:44 pm |
I love the sleepy look you captured here. I actually think the color wasn’t too far off in the first photo. It may have needed some toning down of yellows but not much. The skin correction tool in Elements is wrong more than it is right. When I use it, I usual slide the blush and tan pretty far over to the left.
One thing you want to try to avoid is cutting off any limbs. In your fix, you took away the rest of the foot. When that is cropped away, you actually want to go up further and crop more to the middle of the limb. (Avoid cropping right at the ankles, knees, etc.)
This photo would be really neat with a vintage hand-tinted look. I usually accomplish this by duplicating the layer, changing the top layer to B&W and then reducing the opacity on the top layer to let some color through.
I actual went ahead an made it a B&W. I think it helps bring the focus on this sweet child because no colors are distracting from the scene.
The only issue I see with using a lamp is that it does somewhat act like flash does by creating some harsh shadows. If you could increase the ISO and use natural light or use something like a Lightscoop that diffuses flash, you could probably avoid the shadows.
Overall, I think this photo has lots of fun options and many different directions you could take with it. Thanks for adding it!
(One change I made is shown in a post here: http://rileyyearinphotos.blogspot.com/2009/07/i-faces-constructive-feedback-friday.html)
Elizabeth // 10 July, 2009 at 6:36 pm |
Drew:
Thanks so much for the time you took thinking and teaching me about my photo. I learned a ton. Your positive critic and straightforward wisdom is going to help keep me excited about photography. Have a great weekend.
Elizabeth
Life with Kaishon // 10 July, 2009 at 10:00 pm |
I can’t give you any advice. Your daughter is so cute though : ) and I am glad you are playing and expirimenting with your camera! That is so cool! Hope your vacation continues to be fun!