Four Different Shots

[Jennaferney]

I have taken quite a few photos since getting my new camera (Nikon D90) so I have chosen four of my favourites to share. I would appreciate a point in the right direction.

During our last camping trip to Landcruiser Mountain Park, Jimna.


My 3 month old son, Byron...



And the naughtiest of my puppies, Deefa.

[Remorhaz]

Hi Jenna - Love the drool monster - how cute is that - maybe a tiny bit more burning on the white rug at the bottom?

[chrisk]

Hi Jenna. I really like the first one. Good framing to get the context of the obstacles. I LOVE the last one. Fantastic portrait.
Can stay I'm a fan of the baby shots. As a family snapshot and a memory, a kid drooling is cute to some I suppose, but for me personally, (and I have 3 kids), drool on a photo is basically a deleted photo. The wb looks a little cool and lighting a tad harsh in the 2nd shot aswell to my eyes.

Gorgeous looking baby though. What a cutie !

[Geoff M]

I like the one of your pooch best, not too sure about all the negative space though. Not that it dosent work, just may be better with less. Have you tried a square crop?

[aim54x]

Keep up the good work. I have to agree with Geoff on teh pooch shot being my favourite.

[Mj]

So my 3c worth...

#1: pity I think that there's not a little more breathing space to the right of the frame... but not something you can correct in post.
othewise a good capture of the action.
#2: baby shots are always contenious - this one you could address the skin shine in post but otherwise is fine for what it is.
#3: I would recommend cropping off the bottom up to his knuckles and arm lineto remove the out of focus rug that is somewhat distracting from the subject.
#4: seems a good cadidate for a square crop. I might also look at adding a little contrast and sharping in the eyes.

[gstark]

#1: I hope that somebody took advantage of the situation and arranged for a grease and oil change at the time this was shot?

#2: Chris is spot on with his comments about the white balance here. Have a look at the tint in the whites of the baby's eyes. This alters the whole concept of "Ole Blue-Eyes is back".

#$: Michael's comments for this image are square on the money.

[Murray Foote]

#1 is a good capture of a dramatic situation. However, I think it would have been good to have a bit more breathing space on both the left and the right and not necessarily so that the vehicle is in the middle of the frame width-wise. You also have the disadvantage of an unfavourable time of day. No camera can capture such a wide brightness range and the eye naturally goes to the lightest area in an image, which is not so desirable here. I think you would have had three alternatives at the time: (1) leave the vahicle exactly there and have a picnic for a number of hours until the light goes down; (2) find a different viewpoint with a darker even background (probably not possible); and (3) take multiple shots at different exposures and combine them later, probably using HDR software with settings for a realistic approach (likely a substantial learning curve here and in that sort of light, may still be a compromise).

[CraigVTR]

Only just saw this post, have been occupied with wind, rain and work.

Gorgeous looking baby though. What a cutie !

Got his looks from his grandfathers side of the family.

I agree with Gary's comment about the WB on Byron's eyes and think all the other comments are worthy of a try. We can spend a bit of time playing with LR and PS next time you come over for a visit.