Candid of a 7 year old C&C Welcomed

[KimC]

A friend from my past life in Corp America asked if I could do some fall shots of her children last Friday. There was a 4 year old (wasn't a fan of pictures) and a 7 year old (loved pictures). I created a great rapport with the 7 year old and he helped me significantly with his sister. I have been really pleased with this set, and this afternoon decided to play creatively with a few. I processed this image to be a bit moody and focus on his beautiful face.

[DEAN01]

Beautiful, Kim. I especially like the B&W--good tonal separation.

[Shadowman]

I like the play of light into darkness.

[KimC]

Thank you Dean and John. As silly as it seems, I got emotional as this one came to life... it's always like opening a wonderful present.

I also love the play of light. In a number of the images of the children, I used the light/shadows to add a bit of drama.

Beautiful, Kim. I especially like the B&W--good tonal separation.

I like the play of light into darkness.

[wilgk]

Lovely pose (not posed ) and lighting Kim, very well done, he stands out nicely from the background.
May I say the processing doesn't quite work for me, it seems to give him a slight overall blue tinge, this of course may appear more so on my monitor, and in no way should detract from my praise of the great composition and lighting, well done.

[Dave Humphries]

That's a good'un Kim,

My only suggestion would be a small amount of cropping, to remove a slither off the top and right hand edges - probably about 3% of picture height and width - so perhaps not even worth me mentioning.

Cheers, Dave

[Mike Buckley]

Wonderful, Kim! More than "just" a photo, it's an artistic interpretation of a moment in time. I'm a fan of tight crops, so don't be surprised that I am suggesting that you consider cropping to eliminate about half of the hair with the intended outcome of increasing attention on his riveting eyes.

[Manfred M]

A very nice shot, Kim and you have pretty good separation between your subject and the background ( a bit more separation on the camera right side of the head would not hurt). I like the short lighting that you have used and the nice shadows that this technique casts across his face

The only part of the image that I do not like is the bit of ghosting around the hair on the camera left side. I suspect you added that in post? It stands out a bit like a sore thumb and does not add to an otherwise strong composition. The crop that Mike suggests, just below that area would definitely improve the shot.

[KimC]

Thanks for commenting. It does have a slight blue to it, but that's what I was looking for.

Lovely pose (not posed ) and lighting Kim, very well done, he stands out nicely from the background.
May I say the processing doesn't quite work for me, it seems to give him a slight overall blue tinge, this of course may appear more so on my monitor, and in no way should detract from my praise of the great composition and lighting, well done.

[KimC]

Thanks Dave and Mike for your comments. I have made the suggested crop.

That's a good'un Kim,

My only suggestion would be a small amount of cropping, to remove a slither off the top and right hand edges - probably about 3% of picture height and width - so perhaps not even worth me mentioning.

Cheers, Dave

Wonderful, Kim! More than "just" a photo, it's an artistic interpretation of a moment in time. I'm a fan of tight crops, so don't be surprised that I am suggesting that you consider cropping to eliminate about half of the hair with the intended outcome of increasing attention on his riveting eyes.

[KimC]

Thanks Manfred for your comment.

A very nice shot, Kim and you have pretty good separation between your subject and the background ( a bit more separation on the camera right side of the head would not hurt). I like the short lighting that you have used and the nice shadows that this technique casts across his face

Ugh! I didn't see that -- thank you! I didn't mask anything in this image; the only thing I can think of is there was some bright stuff behind him and part of the reason I decided to convert to B&W. The crop did fix it - see above.

The only part of the image that I do not like is the bit of ghosting around the hair on the camera left side. I suspect you added that in post? It stands out a bit like a sore thumb and does not add to an otherwise strong composition. The crop that Mike suggests, just below that area would definitely improve the shot.

[Otavio]

Thanks Dave and Mike for your comments. I have made the suggested crop.

Hello, Kim. Long time no "see". I liked your portrait and it looks quite a lot better after Dave+Mike crop suggestions, IMO. It brought more viewer's attention to his beautiful eyes.

Nice job!

[Mike Buckley]

Note that one of the general guidelines is to place the eyes one-third of the way from the frame. In the original version Kim presented, that's the position of the eyes. Yet the revised version that places the eyes about one-fourth away from the frame makes this a stronger composition for at least some of us. That explains for me why guidelines are more appropriately called guidelines rather than rules.

[Rebel]

Very nice, I really like the PP on this and the lighting is good.

[Manfred M]

Note that one of the general guidelines is to place the eyes one-third of the way from the frame. In the original version Kim presented, that's the position of the eyes. Yet the revised version that places the eyes about one-fourth away from the frame makes this a stronger composition for at least some of us. That explains for me why guidelines are more appropriately called guidelines rather than rules.

The "rules of composition" work, except when they don't.

Rules like that are probably not worth following....

[deetheturk]

Lovely capture Kim, well done you!

[KimC]

Thanks for mentioning Mike... it seems that some people put a lot of focus on that rule...

Note that one of the general guidelines is to place the eyes one-third of the way from the frame. In the original version Kim presented, that's the position of the eyes. Yet the revised version that places the eyes about one-fourth away from the frame makes this a stronger composition for at least some of us. That explains for me why guidelines are more appropriately called guidelines rather than rules.

[KimC]

Thank you Matt. My goal for the next few months is to let my artistic self out a bit more.

Very nice, I really like the PP on this and the lighting is good.

[KimC]

Would be interested to hear a few of the rules you consider to be most important Manfred.

The "rules of composition" work, except when they don't.

Rules like that are probably not worth following....

[KimC]

Thanks for the morning smile David.

Lovely capture Kim, well done you!