Ethan

[jjeling]

My brother was playing in a small jazz festival. It wasnt exactly a "venue" so I decided to take my cousin for a walk through the park along the river. Naturally I had my camera and ripped a few shots off. Curious to hear what you guys think about these. Feel free to speak how you feel.

[Barefoot]

I’ll take a stab at these if no one else is going to. In the first shot it’s hard to say if you were interested in a total critique or just our thoughts on the composition. It needs cleaning up a little. I suspected there were traces of food around Ethan’s mouth, and that was confirmed in the second shot with the appearance of what looks like a “Burger King Crown”. The slight scar on the bridge of his nose wouldn’t necessarily need to be removed, but some of the other blemishes should be. The focus is soft even in the eye that I’m guessing was what you wanted us to see, but the image could be made to have some impact. I’d like to see a B&W version. The biggest thing I find fault with, and it’s a big one in most people’s book, is that I don’t want to be looking up anyone’s nose.

The second shot would have been better if you hadn’t had the chain cross right through the back of his head. Perhaps have him lean against the mooring post? If nothing else, I think I might have done a tighter crop. Looks like it was mid-day, too. That always makes thing tuff.

[jjeling]

Thanks BF. Yeah, the first shot was spur of the moment. The close crop was intentional and the eye was definitely the subject. I was using an old manual 2.8 135mm prime lens so focus was a little difficult.

In the second shot I was not posing him. I just told him to sit down on the ledge. He is an extremely difficult child to work with and does not listen to well. You can get him to sit in one place but as far as posing, its not going to happen. Yes, it was during the midday and the sun was very intense.

Thanks for the input.

[kat]

What a cutie! And gorgeous eyes. My kids never stop to pose either. If I want them in a certain spot..I make it so they can move out of it to quickly. Swing is wonderful for that

[kurtdriver]

I like the second shot. Very sharp and the look on his face, how would you describe it, wistful? It's a keeper.

[Marko]

Shot 1 is some interesting play with regard to cropping. Although I like the play, cropping through the eye at left doesn't work for me here. Additionally the shot looks quite red on my monitor. I like the eye at image right, although it's not tack sharp I like the detail.

Shot 2, I agree with BF. The chain in back of his head is a distraction for me. The exposure is good but I would have liked the boy to be more on the right or left and perhaps shot vertically. There's a lot going on in the background but the boy is not looking that way or at us. For me therefore, we are losing a sense of connection with the boy against this busy background. Hope that helps - Marko

[jjeling]

Thanks again guys. Like I said, he was extremely difficult to work with and I only got about 10 shots off before I decided to call it quits. I was proud that I was even able to get these off. Once again thanks, it is good to get the input.