Picture of woman taking a picture

[Bretm1]

Haven't posted any pics in a while due to what I will called "delayed onset picture posting paranoia". (DOPPP-Syndrome) There is a lot of talent here and the more I lurk the more self critical I become about what I may want to post. The woman is my sister-in-law. She could crawl out from under a rock, get shot, and be put in a print ad. This was just a quick grab shot at fourth of July parade.

[Anbesol]

I hear you on the self critical thing. Unfortunately I think self-critical-ness only ever increases over time, even as your skill grows.

I do like the pic, great subject, she available? The problem I have with it is the b/g being too in focus - I checked exif and noticed you are using a digicam (Canon SX200), and at f/4. Basically meaning, there is nothing really you can do to have less b/g focus. If you have photoshop, you can select the b/g with a wand or something, and layer via copy, then add a 'gaussian blur' filter.

Here I tried an edit - this was a very sloppy 30 second job though and you could do a lot better if you spend even just 10 minutes with soft-edges on the full res original, hopefully it gives you an idea though.

The most bothersome background distraction here being the guy just to the right of her.

[Bretm1]

Anbesol, thanks for the comments and the blur. I wasn't happy about the background either. I have (free) Picasa and Canon Zoombrowser only, I don't think I can do that.

Oh, and she is taken.

[gracie_r]

I agree with Anbesol, and I like his edits.

And post more! Then the rest of us with DOPPPS-Syndrome will feel more comfortable posting!