Candid Portrait of a little girl (C&C welcomed)

[KimC]

This was taken on the same adventure as the "Biker Portrait" - two extremes. I processed this using the tips Manfred outlined in the Biker post (how did I do?).

Bill, is this more like you were looking for as you described in your "Biker portrait" comments?

Obviously, this beautiful little girl caught me taking an image of her...

** Open for best view **

ISO 1250; 1/160s; F9; 95mm

[Shadowman]

Nice candid, it looks like you did selective sharpening/contrast adjustments to portions of the images.

[DEAN01]

Nicely done, Kim.

[Barbara Ponder]

Lovely candid. The little one with her tongue out is priceless.

[Acorn]

This was taken on the same adventure as the "Biker Portrait" - two extremes. I processed this using the tips Manfred outlined in the Biker post (how did I do?).

Bill, is this more like you were looking for as you described in your "Biker portrait" comments?

Obviously, this beautiful little girl caught me taking an image of her...

** Open for best view **

ISO 1250; 1/160s; F9; 95mm

This is a really lovely picture. Lucky you!

[IzzieK]

Now...now...this is very beautiful...I am not a keen B/W-er but this one is an exception to my rule.

[Mike Buckley]

For me, this image at first glance is about the dog. That's because the dark tonality of the dog stands out against the rest of the image.

After examining the photo, it's clear that it is supposed to be about the little girl looking at the camera. She is so adorable that she almost makes me wanna have children. Unfortunately, the very bright, busy background pulls my eye away from the little girl.

If you're inclined to post the color version, I'd like to try converting it mostly to better appreciate the challenges that confronted you.

[KimC]

Thanks for commenting Mike. I have several wonderful captures of these girls. My problem was, they were under a tree, and it was a very bright (no clouds) day. So I am struggling with that brightness in all of them.

I have to say thou, I do like those high key images I see of children -- for example some of the Kristen Lewis stuff. Is there some way I can handle that brightness in a way that will give me a nice high key B&W image? Here is the colored version...

For me, this image at first glance is about the dog. That's because the dark tonality of the dog stands out against the rest of the image.

After examining the photo, it's clear that it is supposed to be about the little girl looking at the camera. She is so adorable that she almost makes me wanna have children. Unfortunately, the very bright, busy background pulls my eye away from the little girl.

If you're inclined to post the color version, I'd like to try converting it mostly to better appreciate the challenges that confronted you.

[KimC]

Thank you for viewing and commenting John and Dean.

Nice candid, it looks like you did selective sharpening/contrast adjustments to portions of the images.

Nicely done, Kim.

[KimC]

Thank you Barry.

This is a really lovely picture. Lucky you!

[KimC]

Thanks for providing a smile this afternoon Izzie.

Now...now...this is very beautiful...I am not a keen B/W-er but this one is an exception to my rule.

[Mike Buckley]

The color photo reveals what I suspected -- that large portions of the image are completely blown. Unless you can recover the lost highlights, this composition won't work for me whether presented in color or as a monochrome. It doesn't meet the rising standards of your other recent images.

My solution using this composition would have been to properly expose the overall scene so only very few highlights in very unimportant areas would be blown, if any. Even so, the background would probably still be too busy for my tastes.

My second solution would also have been to close in more on the subject; the easiest way to deal with a problematic background is to eliminate it. You were only at 95mm on a 70-200mm lens. Using the longer focal length while remaining in the same position and while using the same aperture would have also rendered a smaller depth of field, which would have been attractive.

I looked only at the Beach gallery of Kristen Lewis, so I didn't see any high-key images (though I didn't even look at all of the photos in that gallery). Even so, the primary difference between all of her images that I did review and your image is that she kept her background plain. Your background is really, really busy.

For me, the key lesson to learn about this photo is not to fight a scene by including bad light and an overly busy background. Instead, eliminate the two issues by capturing a very different scene. Part of my point is that two scenes can be very different even though the subject is the same.

[Mike Buckley]

I forgot to mention to carefully review the story being told. In your photo, I see three stories that compete for my attention. The first one is the adorable girl looking near but not quite at the camera. The second story is the other little girl looking at the dog. The third story is the man in the foreground overseeing the goings on around the two girls.

I'm not suggesting that it's not possible to successfully include some stories in a scene that are subordinate to the primary story. However, it is generally more difficult to make that happen; making it work requires a lot of skill and luck. So, when in doubt, think about simplifying the image down to perhaps one primary story and no more than just one subordinate story. Even then, the subordinate story needs to support the primary story whereas in this case both subordinate stories compete with the primary story...at least for me.

[KimC]

Thanks Mike. I could recover more of the highlights, but the background becomes much too prominent. The soul purpose of this weekend was to get out of my comfort zone and LEARN... which I did on this image as well as the other.

I like you suggestion about closing in on the subject in the same location with the same settings (more experimenting on my part). I did do some experimenting with the smaller child and have a very tight candid on her. Part of my problem was, I wasn't comfortable, shooting someone else children... so didn't want to focus on them too much. I'm sure my comfort level will improve as time passes.

Thank you for the detail of your response. :-)

The color photo reveals what I suspected -- that large portions of the image are completely blown. Unless you can recover the lost highlights, this composition won't work for me whether presented in color or as a monochrome. It doesn't meet the rising standards of your other recent images.

My solution using this composition would have been to properly expose the overall scene so only very few highlights in very unimportant areas would be blown, if any. Even so, the background would probably still be too busy for my tastes.

My second solution would also have been to close in more on the subject; the easiest way to deal with a problematic background is to eliminate it. You were only at 95mm on a 70-200mm lens. Using the longer focal length while remaining in the same position and while using the same aperture would have also rendered a smaller depth of field, which would have been attractive.

[KimC]

Very good points -- need to consider and look for the main story -- keeping it simple is always a better choice. There's so much to think about with this type of photography!!! I must say, I like the challenge of hunting for the image -- it's exhilarating :-)

I forgot to mention to carefully review the story being told. In your photo, I see three stories that compete for my attention. The first one is the adorable girl looking near but not quite at the camera. The second story is the other little girl looking at the dog. The third story is the man in the foreground overseeing the goings on around the two girls.

I'm not suggesting that it's not possible to successfully include some stories in a scene that are subordinate to the primary story. However, it is generally more difficult to make that happen; making it work requires a lot of skill and luck. So, when in doubt, think about simplifying the image down to perhaps one primary story and no more than just one subordinate story. Even then, the subordinate story needs to support the primary story whereas in this case both subordinate stories compete with the primary story...at least for me.

[deetheturk]

Very nice Kim, great expressions on the kids faces, well done

[Manfred M]

Kim - this is the type of shooting situation that I try to avoid as much as I can and the only time I will attempt to do so is for something like a family event, where there is no choice. The lighting is terrible and terrible lighting does not make for a great image. On a day like this, I would have had my Speedlight and spare batteries in my camera bag and would use both (fill flash). Being what looks like a social gathering, you can get away with it, but not in a street photography situation.

First of all, the good news is that the girls are in the shade, which means the light is diffuse and the lighting on them is not too bad. The main thing to watch for in this type of situation, especially if they are under a tree and that close to grass is that light that hits your subjects can give them a green cast that looks just terrible, but you have avoided that. That being said, the lighting is a bit uneven but I could live with this; although I might brighten the toddler's face up a touch

The bad news is that the scene is outside the dynamic range of your camera; the histogram shows that you have lost shadow detail on the left and have blown out highlights on the right. Unless there is enough data to recover the highlights, this image would have ended up in my reject pile. I also find that both versions (B&W and colour) are a touch too light for my taste and I would adjust to darken the shots a touch.

While the girls are cute, compositionally this image just does not work for me. The man on the left of the frame (father?) takes up and interferes with the frame. The background is just too bright and busy for my taste, and while it is a pleasant snapshot, it is not a compelling photograph.

[Mike Buckley]

Ditto for me to everything Manfred mentioned.

Having said that, it's important to recognize that you were intentionally stretching beyond your comfort zone, which is always admirable. Add to that that you have so quickly learned from doing so and it's difficult to think anything but the most positive thoughts about your overall experience in making this photo. Sometimes it's more important to recognize the progress you made in the process rather than the success or failure of the final results. This seems to be one of those cases.

[William W]

This was taken on the same adventure as the "Biker Portrait" . . .

is this more like you were looking for as you described in your "Biker portrait" comments?

Yes. Definitely. In many respects:

There's connectivity with and also an engagement by the elder of the two girls.

There's an internal dynamic between the younger girl and the dog and the elder girl (assumed to be her sister or close cousin) by her reaction to your camera acting to protecting that relationship.

That's a good dynamic triangle.

You've strengthened that triangle by the camera's ELEVATION.

*

No.

In respect that the perspective (camera viewpoint) is not intimate enough: especially to enhance the kids' personalities and bring the viewer's eye into their relationship and into their own private little world beyond all the clutter and goings on of the adults around them: in this respect it is an opportunity shot that has been sniped from a distance.

However, you could probably could have negotiated that shot using that same short telephoto Lens if you had been slightly to camera right, which would have allowed the man to be out of frame enough, to be cropped out.

***

My understanding of your reason for taking that shot is the story illustrated here:



Am I close to being correct that was your reason?

If I am correct, then the story above represents a good framework of your VISION for the shot that you wanted. You got close to getting that vision realized, but there are a few physical elements which got in the way, especially the man. Those elements could have been overcome by different means, the easiest of which most likely was for you to be closer to the action.

Sometimes you've just got to move very fast. This was made with a 35 Prime on 5D Series camera. I had to run from the doorway maybe 15 meters to get the perspective; another reason why I had to run to get so close was to be sure that I was within the Flash Working Distance for the Fill. In any case, and although its not an award winner, it is intimate enough to isolate the world of the daughter and mother at an intimate moment yet allows enough of a view of the surroundings and locale to make better sense of the moment. The Mum loves it and really that's all that matters the end analysis.

WW

[William W]

Addendum:

Please note Post #19 was written without reading any of the thread other than the OP. My habit/protocol, as there was a direct question asked of me, I would not usually allow my response to be influenced by other commentary: a protocol of too much Judging Work, C&C and Marking Students' assignments, I guess.

Anyway, much of what I wrote was already commented by Mike and I agree with the general thrust of his comments about stories etc.

I also agree with Manfred, in so far as Fill Flash would have been a nice option to have.

But, after reading through all the thread, I'd like to add three points for your consideration :

1. A 24 to 70 or similar (rather than the 70 to 200) will be a better tool for you to use, to stretch your comfort zone experience.

2. Clutter AND poor lighting of the areas outside the main story are usually most easiest eliminated or reduced to an insignificant and unimportant portion, by simply getting closer. (Not my idea - read about Mr Capa and note that there's a awful lot of mathematical logic behind his famous quote).

3. Other people's kids are fantastic and fun Subjects: get their parents' email and send them a photo or send them two, the parents will love it. It just takes the practice of doing it, to do it.

WW