A Special Little Girl

[Teton Chuck]

This is my granddaughter. I'm sure she is special.

[csa mt]

Chuck, she is indeed very special; and you've captured her beautifully!

[Manfred M]

Nice shot Chuck, but you've made the classic error most people seem to make when taking pictures of children. This image is taken from your perspective; up high and shooting down. Next time, try getting lower and taking the shot from their eye level. That generally results in a stronger image.

[chauncey]

Great shot Chuck of a gorgeous little lady...I might carry it farther than Manfred's suggestion and try below eye level...just a thought. Maybe peruse this http://www.digitalcameraworld.com/20...-cheat-sheets/

[Mike Buckley]

It's a special photo that will surely be treasured by the family for decades.

Regarding all the discussion about the perspective, one way to do it is to get close enough to the child when you're standing up that she has to look dramatically upward. That emphasizes her diminutive size. Otherwise, I agree that shooting at the child's level is the way to go.

[wilgk]

She made me smile.

[Teton Chuck]

Thanks for all the comments. I enjoyed photographing her. Actually I was sitting on the sand and she was standing by a lake. I may have been slightly above her, but only a few inches. I was making an effort to not shoot down on her, but it is obvious that I did not succeed for the viewer. I like the idea of shooting on an upward angle, but I am six feet four inches and she is little. If I shoot up I need help getting up. Chauncy, the link you included did not work. I am interested in getting additional information if you can provide a functional link. Carol and Kay, thank you for the comments. She is a real sweetheart.

[AB26]

Chuck,

No matter to what extent we mess up a shot of a grandchild, it is still very special. Guess you got to be a grandpa to understand why.

If your knees and back still allow you, Manfred’s advice will make a big difference.

May I introduce her to my grandson? She is lovely!

[bnnrcn]

All I want to say is that she is a lovely child and I have learnt some more from this thread

[ied]

ahhh... so sweet and I have learned something new by you posting. thank you.

Irene

[Loose Canon]

Hi Chuck!

What a beautiful little girl you got there!

Believe me Chuck, I suffer as much, if not more than anyone when it comes to wearing my “Grandpa Goggles”!

I don’t think I have ever seen a shot of yours where I thought I might add something useful. But with your permission I might just toss this out there since no one else has.

The mottled light on her?

Seems to be a light stripe in the middle of her face putting the far eye in shadow and the near eye in partial shadow. A shadow of her hair circling her near eye, and a hard neck shadow. Also a hot spot on the near shoulder.

Maybe if she were all in shade and no fill available it would have been easy(ier) to address this in post if you had a mind to.

I know how hard it can be chasing the grand-scutters so I’m just offering this as a Theory!

Regardless? What a Sweetie!

[Jeffbridge]

Beautiful shot...well done!

[Teton Chuck]

Thank you all for your comments. I do not have much experience photographing people, so your comments are very helpful. One thing I learned is that photographing children often involves a moving target.

[annie5154]

Beautiful capture

[rpcrowe]

Nice candid capture of a lovely little girl. It it were my shot, I would do the following: crop a bit tighter which seems to me alleviates the previously mentioned problems with camera level just a tiny bit, increase sharpening and contrast just a tad, select the far portion of the girls face (which is in the shadow) and lighten it just a little and finally, I might just add a very slight vignette to the corners of the image.

This is what I ended up with...

[vaez]

beautiful girl and lovely child