Salvage Endeavor

[kdoc856]

Walking with my granddaughter last fall, I glanced over to witness a moment of pure innocence and wonder, as she stood in her beloved but inappropriate boots, and found something of wonder in one of thousands of dandelions we'd walked by. Of course I was too far from her for the lens I had, and just fired a quick shot. I've shared below the original and a couple of attempts at making something worthwhile. Interested in your thoughts and suggestions, any edits are welcome and appreciated.

[Shadowman]

I like the closeup shots.

[Polar01]

The last one of the three, those dark edges really draws the eyes to the light making her stand out.

Cheers: Allan

[Andrew1]

The close-ups are good Kevin. You pulled that out pretty good. It's one she'll appreciate when she gets older too.

[NorthernFocus]

That is a special moment captured. Both processed versions are nice, the second of the two would be my preference with two minor tweaks. Maybe recrop slightly so that her eyes are centered laterally in the frame thus putting a little more space in front of her. Than clone out the one bright leaf behind her shoulder and tone down that whole bright spot.

That is an awesome shot.

[IzzieK]

Very beautiful granddaughter you have. She deserves all these shots. I prefer #2 though...there is something in #3 I still have get to grips with...

[kdoc856]

The last one of the three, those dark edges really draws the eyes to the light making her stand out.

Cheers: Allan

Thanks, Allan.

Was attempting to influence the viewers' gaze by applying exposure gradients from the margins, heavy cropping, a fairly heavy peripheral blur, and selective dodging and burning.

[kdoc856]

...there is something in #3 I still have get to grips with...

Thanks for your comments, Izzie.

Maybe her face is overly processed?- it was pretty underexposed and I fiddled with it ad nauseum, and never was happy with the skin tones. #2 was a later version and I like the skin and white balance a bit more.

[kdoc856]

That is a special moment captured. Both processed versions are nice, the second of the two would be my preference with two minor tweaks. Maybe recrop slightly so that her eyes are centered laterally in the frame thus putting a little more space in front of her. Than clone out the one bright leaf behind her shoulder and tone down that whole bright spot.

That is an awesome shot.

Thanks for your thoughts and suggestions, Dan. Will absolutely make some adjustments with your suggestions in mind.

[deetheturk]

Great images Kevin,#2 is my favourite!

David

[terrib]

The color in the second shot looks a little more natural to me, although I don't really know the color of her hair so I'm not sure. I like the crop in the third shot a little better although I might give it a tad more space. I don't have a problem with her being centered but I guess because she's leaning forward a bit, it seems a little cramped in front of her.

[bnnrcn]

They are all lovely Kevin,you might also edit the original with cropping a bit only from the bottom,original has a good composition too

[kdoc856]

Thanks, everyone for your helpful observations. My daughter told me just this morning that she wants to print #3 as an 8 x 10, so it will need a different crop and I'll play with the WB and skin tones. I appreciate the help.