Candid of my wife and son

[STiZzle2010]

This is my first post in this forum. I'm very new to photography as I've only been shooting since April of this year.

Here is a shot of my wife and son yesterday enjoying a fall walk. I have a Nikon D5500 and used a Nikkor 50mm 1.8G lens for this shot. I post processed the image in Lightroom. I'm open to critique as outside opinions help me learn faster.

Thanks for looking!

f/3.5, 1/320th, ISO 100
JMH_0008 by Hebee's Visions, on Flickr

[bnnrcn]

Welcome Your image looks very good as a beginner's shot. I like everything in the image.

[STiZzle2010]

Thank you!

[Donald]

That's a good first post.

One thing I'd ask however - Do you think your really need that watermark? I, along with a number of other people on here, think they destroy a picture.

[STiZzle2010]

I watermark all of my photos that are posted online. While I agree it ruins the image to an extent, I like having my work marked and recognized. I've already had a few photos used by others claiming it is their work. Now I always watermark and my copyright is embedded in the EXIF data too.

[Manfred M]

Welcome to CiC. A very nice family shot!

Let me demonstrate the futility of adding a watermark as copy protection...




Removing your watermark took a couple of seconds.

I have no issues with unobtrusive watermarks, but they really don't do much good for the purpose you have in mind.

[STiZzle2010]

Thank you for your input. What do you think is the best way to protect photos from online theft?

[AlwaysOnAuto]

Only sure way I know of is don't post 'em.
YMMV.

[STiZzle2010]

Haha yea well, clearly that is not an option

[Manfred M]

With the hundreds of millions of images posted, why do you feel that you are going to have them stolen?

Not posting is the only 100% effective way of preventing theft. Other than that, use low quality images (maximum dimension of 1600 pixels) to limit the commercial usefulness to anyone.

[Donald]

Thank you for your input. What do you think is the best way to protect photos from online theft?

Always post a low resolution image.

There will always be some idiot out there who thinks they can steal your image and print a 20" x 16" version of it. If they want to re-post it online and claim it as their own, treat it as a compliment. If you get the chance and know about it, tell as many people as possible that he/she steals images (and make sure they know you've done that). Embarrassing/Shaming them is probably the best weapon.

[Donald]

Okay Josh, apart from the question of the watermark, what about the image?

I think it's a wonderfully happy, fun image. To see a parent and child connecting and engaging so intimately with each other, is a pure joy.

But I'd wonder if you could concentrate even more attention on them? The problem is that there is a very nice background that's sort of competing for attention alongside your wife and son. In other words, I'd wonder about cropping the picture so that the only bit of it asking for attention is your wife and son.

If I may, purely to illustrate what I mean .......... (and you and others may reject this idea, of course). This is at a 5:4 ratio.

[STiZzle2010]

Thank you for the advice everyone on posting a low image resolution. This makes sense and is something that I will do in the future.

I am a visual person so cropping the image is perfectly fine with me Donald. Thank you for the feedback and I agree that your version puts more emphasis on my subjects. Composition is something that I have been working on as it is one of my weaknesses.

[dje]

Hi Josh

That's a very good image for your first post. You've captured a cherished moment in the life of your family with a shot that is technically very good. I use the same lens as yours for shots like that and find it very good.

Dave

[STiZzle2010]

Thank you! I like this lens too and it is the one I use the most. I also have a 18-140mm kit lens but I rarely use it. I would like to get something in the 70-200mm range but with my crop sensor and no internal focus, I'm second guessing my choice. I know Sigma has a 50-150mm 2.8 but it is no longer in production and I haven't fully committed to going used. So far now, I'm making due with what I've got.

[DEAN01]

Josh,

Wonderful shot. +1 to Donald's suggested crop.

[STiZzle2010]

Thank you!

[Loose Canon]

But I'd wonder if you could concentrate even more attention on them? The problem is that there is a very nice background that's sort of competing for attention alongside your wife and son.

And further toward this end, along with Donald's crop, you might try a bit of vignetting and see if that flies for you.