Daughter Photo (for Nat)

[Lava Lamp]

Tell me what you think and how you would improve it. Impromtu shot on Mother's Day at a home furninshings store with Nikon N6000 and 24mm lens at f/2.8 and something like 1/30 or 1/69. It looked very yellow from the tungsten lights and I've tried to correct it.

[gahspidy]

Your daughter has a great pose and expression on her face and really makes this shot a nice one despite what i think is rather flat lighting. Of course this was impromptu as you said and getting the lighting to be any different would have been difficult. I am undecided as to whether the bg is distracting to me or not. i like seeing the surroundings she is sitting amongst, but at the same time it looks a bit like to much going on back there. Overall i liie this image alot, but feel it would have been great with better technicals here.

[natatbeach]

For starters technicalities aside even beyond the fact it's your daughter...this look and pose is one of the reasons I want to shoot kids (no pun intended ) She has this "look" beyond her years that I simply adore. It really made me smile...I have a lot to learn as far as technicalities go but feel like I have learned enough to share---

lighting---what can you do with department overheads (carrying reflectors would be the great abswer but who really does that when you have kids) I don't think it's that bad I would definitely do a little post editing and bring some light into her face around her eyes and the sides...color- I like the warmer orangey look but a blue filter (PS) or adding blue tends tends to tone it down and give you better skin tones (just my experience--someone correct if need be) overall pic is a smidge dark just adjust the curves slight S

background- busy...here's where I got stumped....I actually liked the clutter when I first looked(still do but wish it would have been a bit more out of focus) I liked it in the shot because it seemed like such a contradiction to the pose and outfit she was wearing...what I might have done different is maybe gone from another angle and tried to use those nifty rugs hanging to the right side of her as a background. is that Pier 1Imports? and maybe come down to her level just a smidge (although I generally tend to forget).

Hope this helps and I appreciate the post overall I really enjoyed looking at this shot...sometimes having the perfect light and background would be WONDERFUL...but not necessary. Example: I have a friend who's daughter (6yrs old) is little miss shoe shopaholic...shooting her in a shoe department store for a back ground although busy would be something her mom could relate to and enjoy...for a portrait. kind like a chef in a kitchen ya know?

[kkraczek]

Tell me what you think and how you would improve it. Impromtu shot on Mother's Day at a home furninshings store with Nikon N6000 and 24mm lens at f/2.8 and something like 1/30 or 1/69. It looked very yellow from the tungsten lights and I've tried to correct it.

Hi Lava Lamp, I hope you don't mind, but I applied a dark blue lens filter in photoshop to try and correct the yellow... that's the fastest way I've found. You could also select the background only and do a lens blur to try and reduce the busy-ness of the photo. I love the look on your daughter's face!

[kamboura]

Ahh....when will the day come that I can take an "impromtu" shot, and make it look this good !!.... I would change very little about this picture.

I like the yellow tone, in general, I kind of like pictures that are more warm... I like how not totaly blurred the background is, and I like how all of your daughter is in the picture, which is explains the wide angel lens.

I agree with Nat on the lighting, the only thing I would improve (no clue how though), would to show a little more light in and around the eyes.