36
votes
Why is this child portrait not compelling? What went wrong and what could have been done better?
In addition to what has been written (cropped feet), in my opinion the greed hedge in the background draws a lot of attention away from the child because it is so heavily saturated.
Since the ...
- 1,014
23
votes
Why is this child portrait not compelling? What went wrong and what could have been done better?
The leaves in the background aren't an interesting part of the photo, and they're a bit of a distraction. Blurring the background by shooting at a wider aperture (smaller f-number) would turn the ...
- 31.7k
21
votes
Accepted
Why is this child portrait not compelling? What went wrong and what could have been done better?
The first and obvious problem is framing. Almost never do you want to put a small head in the middle of a large picture.
There is much space to the left of the child in the picture, but it doesn't ...
- 17.5k
19
votes
Why is this child portrait not compelling? What went wrong and what could have been done better?
To improve your portraiture, try simplifying your composition to better focus the viewer's attention on your subject.
How? (No particular order):
Square yourself with the background. You are closer ...
- 1,040
11
votes
Why is this child portrait not compelling? What went wrong and what could have been done better?
The vegetation in the background is way more saturated than everything else on the photograph and that it looks rather disturbing — I have never seen leaves saturated that much. Leaves should be ...
- 5,553
6
votes
What do I need to shoot student portraits for elementary students who missed picture day?
You have several things to think about.
First off, you would probably like the photos to closely match what the photos of the other students look like, so pay attention to the background, the pose, ...
- 61
6
votes
Why is this child portrait not compelling? What went wrong and what could have been done better?
Ignoring the composition, color and editing that everyone else has answered perfectly clearly, I'd like to point out the blanched areas on the cheeks and forehead.
These areas are a product of ...
- 730
5
votes
Question for Portrait Photographers who have normally photographed 4 or more children at the same time
This is a situation where you need to be flexible and able to play it by ear. Evaluate which child is the highest risk for lasting the shortest amount of time before they become harder or impossible ...
- 176k
4
votes
Why is this child portrait not compelling? What went wrong and what could have been done better?
Some of the strangeness can be attenuated by rectifying the horizon.
- 41
4
votes
How coach children to smile nicely?
Avoid posing your subjects
You'll get more natural expressions if you can compose shots where the subject is actively doing something, rather than just looking at the camera - and you may well find ...
- 761
3
votes
How coach children to smile nicely?
For a group of kids
Tell them to put an "angry monster face". Take a photo.
Tell them to put a "happy face". Take the photo.
You can play with a lot of concepts.
Sad faces, ...
- 25.4k
3
votes
Where can I find a camera for a photographer with a severe acquired disability?
The place to start would probably be with organisations that support individuals with severe disabilities.
Those type of organisations are very familiar with the unique needs of individuals ...
- 176k
3
votes
Why is this child portrait not compelling? What went wrong and what could have been done better?
In my view the problem is depth of focus. The distracting background of the hedge needs to be softened by being out of focus. If your camera allows, try setting aperture priority with a large aperture,...
- 131
3
votes
What lens and flash should I get to take pictures of kids?
I'm new to having a camera and I'm not sure how everything works with
my DSLR.
Just basic advice, but before buying anything, I'd say practice enough to be comfortable with using your camera. Bad ...
- 53k
3
votes
Why is this child portrait not compelling? What went wrong and what could have been done better?
The girl is very cute, but it has this "deer in the headlights" look, what Joshua called a "fake looking smile" in a comment. That's unfortunate because I feel drawn to look at a cute girl in a nice ...
3
votes
Why is this child portrait not compelling? What went wrong and what could have been done better?
There are many ways to improve this picture. The green in the background and the ball was brutal, I turned them down. The grass looked a bit strange. I brightened it up a bit.
Many of the other ...
- 739
3
votes
What is the best camera to buy for a child to help them learn about photography?
Updating for 2023, if you don't want your child to be limited to a phone camera, and a ruggedized/waterproof P&S isn't going to cut it on controls, given their level of interest and you know they'...
- 53k
2
votes
Why is this child portrait not compelling? What went wrong and what could have been done better?
Consider the type of the image. If it is a picture for family album, I wouldn't do anything artistic, just try to squeeze some good technical "pro" quality
Next time find a framing where you don't ...
- 5,223
2
votes
Why is this child portrait not compelling? What went wrong and what could have been done better?
The horizontal white and yellow curb in the background is very very distracting. It draws your eye away from the subject. The subject is also incomplete - you cut off the feet.
Having the subject ...
- 954
2
votes
Why is this child portrait not compelling? What went wrong and what could have been done better?
Looking at the toys - I would ask: "What do they add?" - they're not helping to tell a story about the subject. IMO, if you have other objects in a portrait, they work better if they are background, ...
- 2,347
2
votes
Why is this child portrait not compelling? What went wrong and what could have been done better?
I'm a know-nothing internet guy, I take lousy photos, you shouldn't listen to me, but here's an uneducated opinion anyway.
My first impression was that I like this picture. Her beaming smile would ...
- 129
1
vote
Where can I find a camera for a photographer with a severe acquired disability?
Great initiative! I've found some links that may be useful:
https://www.atandme.com/?p=474
https://www.photo.net/discuss/threads/which-camera-for-disabled-person-with-only-a-left-hand.299458/
- 1,540
1
vote
What do I need to shoot student portraits for elementary students who missed picture day?
First things first, use bounce flash if you're doing head shots. Then use the 50mm. With the crop factor of the 60D it will give an 85mm equivalent.
If you can, take the shoot outdoors; that way you ...
- 11
1
vote
Which studio backgrounds for child and infant portraits?
Normally you want a happy bright setup for kids, so a white one is a good start. (I do not like black for kids...)
If you are doing a lot of that try print a theme background. Clouds, a Christmas ...
- 25.4k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible