Little girl in backlight

[Cara]

Hi there,
This is a candid shot taken at a park at about 8am. No post processing done.

Appreciate some critiques and comments.

Many thanks.
Cara



p.s.
I'm new here and this is my 1st post. A bit of self-intro abt myself in photography.
I have been taking pictures mainly for "record" purpose for the past years, i.e. record whatever i want to record without much thoughts about compositions, lightings etc.
I got myself a dSLR in Sepetember '05 as i would like to have more controls on the camera. Hope i could learn from everyone of you in taking better pictures.

Since i am still new in photography, i cannot "give back as much as i receive" (as stated in the guidelines) now, but i will if i becomes better in the future.

[Herriot]

Lots of concentration going into some important game playing here! Nicely composed with effective use of the sunlight, particularly like the sunlight hitting the taller girl's hair and arm. Very sweet overall.

Welcome to the forum Cara, am sure you will enjoy it, there is a big mix of people on the boards with many different areas of interest and levels of experience, am sure that you will get a lot out of participating here!

Herriot

[Cara]

Thank you for your comments, Herriot.

I have a hard time finding a photo critique forum with nice folks in there giving constructive comments. And i consider myself as lucky to reach this forum through search engine.

I don't mind harsh comments, as long as they help me to improve. And if i don't receive any feebacks on a photo, i would consider that photo is too common or not great enough to have comments.

Guess i'll enjoy my stay here. ;)

[jar_e]

First off, welcome to the boards. A little too tight of a crop for my taste. I would try to give a little more breathing room for the girl on the left. The backlight creates a hot spot on the main subject's hair, but I think it's alright. Nice first shot.

Welcome to the baords,

Jared

[Cara]

Thank you Jared, for your comments and warm welcomes.

I wish i could "give a little more breathing room for the girl on the left" also. Too bad her father was just sitting at the bench behind her, which was hard to exclude from the frame.

I'll take note of the crop issue in the future. For example, i still not sure if it's ok to only include only part of the taller girl's left arm. Any thoughts?

And, is the reflecting lights on the leaves distracting?

Thanks in advance.

[jar_e]

Cara,

With the girls arm on the left it is a slight issue, but not a huge one IMO. It works out as is because she is facing the camera, and already providing a large subject material. The leaves in the background may be also a little distracting, but I didn't notice it until you mentioned it!

[Cara]

Oh.. okay. Thank you. I'm thinking if i should do a "burn" on the distracting leaves.

I'll be leaving town and do not have internet access for the following 5 days or so. Please don't feel that i'm ignoring your comments, if you have left me one. ;)

I'll do a check on the forum once i'm back. Thank you.

[Overbeyond]

A warm welcome. I love this. The expression on the girls face, the one holding the camera (?) is wonderful. "Here, let me see this, how did I come out" she could be saying. I dont mind the tight crop as we can now concentrate totally on the lovely girls themselves. You clicked at the perfect moment.
Tom

[Chunk]

Nice capture. I like the warm, reflected light on the taller girls face and arm. I think the comosition is good and do not find the leaves to be a distraction, they add to the atmosphere of the place.

[dbutler]

I can't see it for some reason, but welcome to the forum!!

[Lava Lamp]

Hi there,
This is a candid shot taken at a park at about 8am. No post processing done.

Appreciate some critiques and comments.

Many thanks.
Cara



p.s.
I'm new here and this is my 1st post. A bit of self-intro abt myself in photography.
I have been taking pictures mainly for "record" purpose for the past years, i.e. record whatever i want to record without much thoughts about compositions, lightings etc.
I got myself a dSLR in Sepetember '05 as i would like to have more controls on the camera. Hope i could learn from everyone of you in taking better pictures.

Since i am still new in photography, i cannot "give back as much as i receive" (as stated in the guidelines) now, but i will if i becomes better in the future.

Nice light. If she were looking at you and in more of a classicly cute action (like holding a puppy) it would be superb. Also, it seems aotuch soft, but maybe you wanted it that way.

[juzzus]

Hello Cara , personally i felt that the expression from the girls are far more interesting than the backlight as such i may choose to a tighter crop to emphasize tha facial expression ...

[Overbeyond]

Hello Cara , personally i felt that the expression from the girls are far more interesting than the backlight as such i may choose to a tighter crop to emphasize tha facial expression ...

I agree 100%
Tom

[Cara]

Hello everybody,
Finally i'm back! Hope you guys enjoy your holidays as much as i am.

Tom and Chunk,
Thank you for your nice comments.

D,
Thank you for your warm welcome. Are you still having problem viewing the picture?

Lava Lamp,
Yep, the picture looks a bit soft, not intentionally. Maybe due to zooming at the longest end of the lens? I used Nikkor 55-200mm kit lens for this picture by the way.
Not sure if pictures without post processing on sharpening are looking a tad soft like this. Anybody has any clues?

juzzus and Tom,
Tighter crop to emphasize the facial expression? Like this? Please let me know if i don't cropped it right, or just edit my photo to show me the right way. Thank you.



A little bit intro about equipments that i have now. Nikon D50 with kit lens 18 - 55mm + 55 - 200mm.
Please don't tell me both lens are crap and ask me to upgrade. I have no intention to change lens as i just started out photography and in learning stage.
I don't mind you guys point out to me that e.g. picture is soft, colours are not right, distortion at corners etc. At least i know it's the lens problem and i could consider changing it once i'm really into pursuing professional looks of the images. But for now, i just want to do the photography right. Yep, silly me.

[swmdrayfan]

Hi Cara, and welcome. You're going to find the people here are really helpful, and have a lot of good advice. My main comment was going to deal with the softness, but I see that has already been addressed. As far as the lenses go, you are fine with those. Hope to see more of your work as time goes by.
John

[Cara]

Hi John,

Thank you for your warm welcome also. I think i like this forum and people here more and more now.

"deal with the softness" - May i know how to do that? Is avoiding zooming at far end could reduce the chances of having soft pictures (unless you are telling me this lens will always give me such results, then i could not do anything as for now)?
Please let me know if i could find the answers in this forum, then i'll go do a search without wasting your time explaining again. ;)