My son

[tienduong]

This photo I shot my son in the spring of 2011.

[Donald]

Tien Duong - Firstly, well done on managing to place the picture within your post on the forum. I saw that, earlier, you had the URL link showing rather than the image link. I am very pleased that you have been bale to work out how to insert the image.

This is a nicely posed picture. Your son looks happy in it. There is good use of aperture to throw the background out-of-focus.

I think there are two, related issues. Firstly, your son is placed in the centre of the image. I think it would bet better if his head was closer to oner side. Because he is looking from the left to the right, it would be better if there was less space on the left side. And, secondly, I think that the sculptured object at the left-hand side is a distraction.

So, my suggestion is to consider cropping this picture. I would do along the vertical line of the base upon which that object at the left is sitting.

I hope this suggestion is helpful.

[Mike Buckley]

Donald's suggested crop would resolve the two issues very well. It will dramatically improve a very nice image of your very good looking son.

[tienduong]

Thanks Donald! Thanks alot, I was cropping the image after cropping is done I see can make viewers concentrate better on the boy. I hope to get lots of hints for my better photographs.

[Donald]

Yes, I think that is now a much stronger picture of your son.

[tienduong]

Thanks so much! I will update the photo and wanted to take advice from you.

[Mike Buckley]

I agree that this is by far a stronger image. However, I'm a bit disappointed that you eliminated your son's hands, which for me are an integral part of the photo. If you decide to print it, the larger crop I am suggesting would also make it possible to make a larger print.

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Tien Duong,

I hope you don't mind but I provide a small demonstration of the idea I think Mike is suggesting.



I made a few subtle adjustments in addition to the crop, which I have left showing the "rule of thirds" grid so you can see why I have placed it where I have.

Those other adjustments;
'dodge' the face slightly to brighten just a little
'burn' the hands just a little so they were not brighter than his cheeks
desaturate the arrowed red area (the other was cropped off)
clone over the tiny remaining bit of dark tree trunk top right corner

You will find it is often 'the little things' that can make quite a difference to where a viewer's attention is drawn, this is why I took the four actions above to ensure nothing distracts from his face.

Please ask if any of the terminology is unfamiliar to you.

Hope that helps,

[Mike Buckley]

I would like to reiterate Dave's point that so often doing the little things makes a really big difference.

To clarify the reason he made sure the boy's face is brighter than his hands: a portrait will almost always be best when the first thing that draws our attention is the face. It's also almost always true that the first thing that draws our attention is the brightest part of the image that is also in focus, so ideally that should be the face.

Seeing Dave's crop reminds me that it isn't just the hands being included that make it so much more appealing to me. It's also that his crop shows the relationship between the boy and the sculpture; he is hugging it in a fashion that immediately explains why he is smiling, as opposed to the tighter crop that merely shows him being next to it.

If you decide upon the first crop, I would be willing to bet that almost every time you show it to someone, you would explain that your son had climbed on the sculpture. If it's that important to explain, it would be better to let the image speak for itself, as in Dave's crop.

[tienduong]

Thanks everyone! I have remade the first lessons.
-Cropping frame again
-Blur and background light reduction
-Increase light in the face and hands
-Remove the stain on the face

[Mike Buckley]

That's very nice, Nguyen. Make more and more pictures of your son while thinking of the details discussed here and everything will soon become natural to you.

You also might want to attend to that bright red detail on the right in the background that is distracting. Notice how Dave dealt with it in his version.