Candid portrait

[armando_m]

Bugging my family with my camera as they sat around the table eating

I made an effort to include the girl and her mom in the OOF background, while no one may be able to recognize her, the features are recognizable to me

cropped the right side to remove some distracting elements from the table

[llewpics]

I like that the image is very sharp and has nice colors. What I don't like is that the subject is not looking at the camera, but is looking away and to the left ...also, I am not too fond of the person on the right ...I would like a more neutral background.

[Old Timer]

I am a big fan of candid portraiture and by definition we would assume that the image will not be studio perfect. I like the pose that you caught, it doesn't bother me that she is not looking at you, but would like to see the eyes lightened a bit to enhance the color and emphasize that important feature of any portrait. The blurred figure in the background does tend to draw some attention away from you subject and I would have preferred not to them there, but once again it is a candid and we cannot control the environment as in a studio portrait setting.

[LeeIs]

Very nice candid shot. I think if you shave a bit off the top it makes it stronger. Half way between the top border and the mom's head.

The only thing that bugs me a bit is the hand across the face. And how out of focus it is.

Other than that, it's pretty good. Nice colours, contrast and sharpness.

[iyuphoto]

Armando,

Well executed candid. I like the colour tone, the sharpness and the lighting. The blurred figure at the back works for me because she is also looking at the same direction as the girl and makes me wonder what caught their attention.

As with any candids, the most difficult part for me is capturing that intense true emotion. You gotta be there at the right place, at the right time, and with the right execution. In this candid, I find the emotion is not that intense. And so, the picture loses some of its power.

Respectfully,

iyuphoto

[n8]

The shallow dof works well for me. You could probably crop the other person out and I don't think it would hurt the image. In the very least, clone out that spoon, or whatever the white stick is on the right side.

[GB1]

It has a nice relaxing, casual feeling Armando. Decent sharpness on her face, and I like her expression.

It's good .. but the same casualness that makes it nice also makes it mostly a snapshot. THIS IS FINE: it's good, just not a perfectly lined up image (I think her arm up like it is blocks the viewer's way). Good OOF, but not sure I like the bokeh too much. I think I prefer a more circular bokeh .

GB

[AgingEyes]

It looks like my take on this photo is going to be different. But perhaps it's because of what you said about the photo, armando.

I'd like to see a bit more room on the left where the girl is looking. Right now is not that bad but a bit more would be better, IMO. Some of the shadow area could be opened up a bit, I think. May be just a touch if that's possible.

I don't mind the out-of-focus mother as, to me, it seems to be a mother and daughter shot. That also means I would rather the mother not that out of focus. I would like to see the facial expression of the mother as well. If so, perhaps this is not really a portrait of one person?

Hey, some of the well-know photos in the history of photography are snap-shots, too

As this is a photograph of your family, none of us will be able to relate to this photo more than you do. I'd say if it's good for you, it's good enough.

[armando_m]

Thanks for the comments!!

I'll give it another try with some of the suggestions

how is this ?

[draymorton]

I love the moment. And the capture is technically good - great sharpness and I like the fact that her face is brighter than most of the background.

I do feel that cropping way down from the top (and even cropping into the bg subject's head) would create more balance. The combination of the cut-off elbow and all of that negative space over her head makes the whole thing feel lopsided.

I also think that this is one image which could potentially work way better as a skillfully-converted black and white. The redness in the face makes the image seem a little snapshot-y and some of the brighter colors are a bit distracting.

I don't mind that she's not looking at the camera or that she's looking out-of-frame. But I do think a little less blurring off the background would be better, so that you could actually make out some of the mom's facial features. A tighter f-stop would also have reduced some of the blurring of the subject's hand.

And I agree with n8 that the top of the spoon should be cloned out. It doesn't really need to be there.

Very nice shot, though, as always.

[armando_m]

Thanks Dray, here's my B&W attempt

[AgingEyes]

Both of the newer versions look too bright to me, more so for the b&w.

[draymorton]

I like it. Maybe just a tad too bright, but I do like it in b/w.

I tried a basic edit - a little darker and contrastier. Hope you don't mind.

[armando_m]

Thanks , is the edit over the b&w , or the color version?

[draymorton]

Thanks , is the edit over the b&w , or the color version?

Color, converted in Silver Efex Pro.