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01-26-2012, 03:31 AM   #1
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Family portraits
Lens: 18-55mm Kit Camera: Pentax K-m Photo Location: @home ISO: 100 Shutter Speed: 1/180s Aperture: F4 

Hello. This is my first post here, i am a brand new forum member since today. This is an old picture (6 months ago) made with my old k-m. I want your critics (technique, exposure, framing and composure, focus, everything). No mercy. I just want to make good family photos for my nephew. I added a photoshoped version too, with an interesting sepia (pinhole) effect. I want your opinions on that too. Thank you in advance for the critiques and advices.



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01-26-2012, 07:07 AM - 1 Like   #2
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The pic comes accross as a well exposed good snapshot rather than a portrait.
This is down too, mostly the background being wayyyy too distracting. Especialy the bright
light behind the babys arm, the post growing out of dads head etc.
A portrait commands the attention to be on the subject.
A nicer uncluttered background or a wide aprature to blur the distracting background would have been far better.
For all the above reasons, the second pics works better, since the emphasis has shifted more on the subject, while still containg some of the same problems.
The contrast is slightly high too which is burning out too much detail.
This can be corrected by adding green filter.
01-26-2012, 07:17 AM - 1 Like   #3
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Hallo juventinu83 and wellcome to PF!
First of all I think you have captured a funny moment there. But as you asked for critique here are my two cents on your pictures: IMO you should go for a little bit wider framing, so that the head and hand of the father and the kid's arm are completely on the pic. Focus and exposure look ok to me in the first picture. For me the background is kind of distracting.
I checked the EXIF data and saw that you used your zoom on the wide end. For a shot like this I'd recommend to take a few steps back and go for a longer focal length like 50mm for example. Longer focal lengths have the advantage that you don't have wide angle destortions. To my eye the father's hand looks a little bit out of scale in comparison to the head. In a situation like that where the subject is close to the background you should use a wider aperture in order to get a better separation.
The b/w conversion doesn't work for me. The contrast is much to high and a lot of detail is lost. All the light areas are overexposed and the dark areas are underexposed. If you want to go for a high contrast b/w conversion, you should take care that you don't loose the details of the skin.
So, I hope I could help you. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask!
Cheers,
David
01-26-2012, 07:30 AM   #4
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PS lol.... I think the framing is fine. Further back would just bring in more cluttered background to me. If anything, I may have gone in closer, but then it would be a totaly different pic. IE Crop the pic just under the faces !
That would be a far better potrait with far more Impact.

01-26-2012, 07:59 AM   #5
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so framing could be allot better, and the background shoul pe chosen much more carrefully. What about the aperture? i want the maximum detail on skin and hair, but i would also want a shallow DOF. What would be the best setting?
01-26-2012, 08:53 AM   #6
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QuoteOriginally posted by juventinu83 Quote
What about the aperture? i want the maximum detail on skin and hair, but i would also want a shallow DOF. What would be the best setting?
That depends on several factors like distance to the subject, distance between subject and background, light and last but not least your lens. If you have a decent fast prime there shouldn't be any noticable loss of detail if stopped down to f2.8 or f2. Normally I use my K50 1.2 or my FA* 85 1.4 for portraits. Wide open they're both a little soft (still very usable), but if stopped down to f2 they're incredibly sharp. Furthermore, if you resize the pics like above there's no need to worry about a little softness.
01-26-2012, 09:09 AM - 1 Like   #7
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Framing is fine - I would keep all the hands, etc, as that shows the protective relationship.

I would fix the color just a bit - it is on the green side.

It is less than a true portrait, but a very nice family shot, regardless.

01-26-2012, 09:55 AM   #8
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thank you guys for the info. David, you have lenses i just cannot afford for the moment. I have to relly on my old SMC M 50mm f1.7 (75mm on APS-C sensor) as my sharpest lens, But it is good enaugh stopped at 3.5 and above... The kit lens (used for this foto) is pretty soft regardless of chosen aperture, and my tokina 70-210 f4.5 is not suitable for this kind of pictures... Theese are all my lenses for now, so they have to make due
01-26-2012, 12:57 PM - 1 Like   #9
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A very pleasing image showing two happy persons. The presence of the light in the background is a bit unfortunate but there is nothing you can do about it now. The sharpness is more than adequate for this image but the WB is really off. Try to set a reference point on the baby's T-shirt and you will obtain a completely different image showing people with far nicer skin colour. There should be less destructive options for a B&W conversion.
01-26-2012, 09:16 PM - 1 Like   #10
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Hi

I am with Davidw0815 a slightly less tight crop left and right would benefit the image.

But my main criticism as usual is absence of a correct white balance. Your Image is too green.
I have done nothing else but used the white balance eye dropper and pointed it at the baby's chest.

In Photoshop I cloned out the bright background area next to the baby's left elbow. (Just quick and dirty to see what difference it would make).

Tell me what you think.

Greetings

Last edited by Schraubstock; 09-16-2012 at 05:28 PM.
01-26-2012, 10:21 PM   #11
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Well done Schraubstock ! I did not suggest cloning out the background light because I don't know how to do these things but it is nice that you did. The WB looks correct too. The image is now much improved.
01-26-2012, 10:57 PM   #12
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QuoteOriginally posted by fg-one Quote
Well done Schraubstock ! I did not suggest cloning out the background light because I don't know how to do these things but it is nice that you did. The WB looks correct too. The image is now much improved.
Thank you kindly.

Just for a bit of mischievous fun and I hope Atomei will take it in the spirit it was meant to, I played Photoshop Dentist and implanted a new tooth into the gap. (Cheaper than the real thing)

Greetings

Last edited by Schraubstock; 02-16-2013 at 01:49 AM.
01-27-2012, 12:14 AM   #13
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nice job with the tooth Schraubstock ). Maybe you should put some hair on my brother's head too... it seems he's going bald. Anyway, greatly improved WB, i'm paying much more attention to this. Last night i made some close-up shots to my black kat on the red sofa, incandescent lightning, the AWB was awfull, i had to use a white sheet of paper to adjust the white ballance, but it's worth it. anyone here has the old SMC-M 50mm 1.7?
01-27-2012, 12:43 AM   #14
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QuoteOriginally posted by juventinu83 Quote
Maybe you should put some hair on my brother's head too
Thanks juventinu83 but I think I'll practice on my head first.

As a side comment, I did loose a front tooth many years ago through a sporting accident and had one implanted. Was painless and no problem, it's the best thing I ever did. Go for it if you can afford it.

Greetings
01-27-2012, 12:47 AM   #15
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It's not gonna stay like that, he will fill that gap soon. Until then, clone stamp for the win!
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