Waiting for Santa - b&w Portrait

Portraits really aren't my thing, but my sister has trouble getting shots of her eldest daughter (5 in a few days) when she is not really self conscious or mugging for the camera, so I borrowed her little digital camera (Nikon Coolpix 3100) to see if I could get something for her while we are all together for the Christmas weekend. This was the result, which I converted into b&w because that's how I tend to picture shots. Although I think it looks like she is waiting for santa, I actually got her to sit still and ignore me for a bit by telling her to watch for fire fairies in the open fire!

I did quite a lot of work on the computer to fake a shallower depth of field, and I'm afraid this may be a little obvious on the edges, but I hope it doesn't detract too much. My sister seemed pleased with the result, and I thought I'd post it here too.

Thanks for looking.

matt

[edit: I've changed the original b&w to a toned version which I think lightens it up a little]

http://mattgcp.smugmug.com/photos/13298018-M.jpg

Very good shot, I feel. Clever of you to have her look into the fire for fairies, worked here well. I see the blurry edges around her, especially her hair from the dof adjustment but it works to give a soft look to this which works nice. I like how the profile of her face is set against the dark bg area. I would only think about enhancing the glow on her hair and face slightly if it were mine. and maybe burn in the bright carpet area behind her arm in the bg. Great job.

For someone who doesn't usually do portraits, you did a wonderful job IMO. B&W is perfect for this portrait. She looks beautiful. I think the blurr is well done. I would be proud had I done it! Your sister (and niece) should be pleased. Congratulations!

Liz

Gary, Liz, thanks for the comments. She is a pretty little thing so the job was all but done for me, the only real skill was getting her to sit still long enough for me to use a longer exposure so I wouldn't ruin the firelight with a flash.

Just for contrast, I'll put the colour version below. I think it works quite nicely as well, soft warm colours, and those lights in the background are on my parent's Crhistmas tree, which is nice for me:

http://mattgcp.smugmug.com/photos/13288854-M.jpg

I think the color one is the best.
I like the feel and the warmth of the image.

Please remember to post images no larger than 600 pixles, no matter how your are posting them here.
It has been a long established "rule".
Thanks!

Brian

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mtbbrian

I think the color one is the best.
I like the feel and the warmth of the image.

Please remember to post images no larger than 600 pixles, no matter how your are posting them here.
It has been a long established "rule".
Thanks!

Brian

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I agree with Brian here. I like the color version for the warm glow. Nice!

Hi Matt,
I like the portrait. The face is beautiful. However, I find the left arm occupies a lot of spcae and causes some distraction.
All the best.
yoyo

Agree with all - nice moment and a good picture. Just two things though:
a) would though try to get rid of those higlights (in both versions). I can't make up my mind about those two - like both but it is like the b&w has a sepia kind of look, or maybe that is just me screen. And b) then it would be nice to see a bit more contrast at least in the b&w.

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions.

Personally I really can't decide whether I prefer colour or b&w here, which is frustrating, as I feel like I ought to settle on one or the other to make that the 'definitive' version of the shot. I'm just going to keep vacillating I think!

Regards,

matt