I started photography approx 1 month ago, I purchased a Canon M50 with a Kamlan 50mm F1.1 lens, We went for a family walk to fuel my new addiction and 18m old daughter fell in a really muddle puddle. Tears started shortly after this picture and i feel with the set up i had this was my favourite to date.
I saw you were looking for feedback on this shot. I rated you a 2, but feel this is very close to a 3. My biggest issue with it is the focus is off. Should be on the eyes, but looks to be on her left hand, which looks to be strangely sharp almost over sharpened. If her eyes were the sharpest part of the image I think it would easily be a 3 for me, with a little fill flash it might even be a 4. If I were going to do anything to "fix" this shot it would be to go in with a local mask and soften up that hand just a little bit, my eye just keeps going to it. Beautiful image for a family memory though, especially for only being at it for a month. Keep at it you're definitely on the right track!
Troy !! this is highly appreciated, Im struggling to throw money at tutorials etc currently especially after spending on camera and lens. i know what you mean with the sharpness but ive barely touched it in lightroom, ive seen so much on youtube about over editting im abit scared to play with settings. im going to play with your idea and see where it leads me.
I may just be that the lens is that sharp, but the depth of field is that shallow. I know what you mean by not wanting to spend money on tutorials. I've been at it for about a year and a half and just find all the free info I can, and shoot lots of pics, at least with digital you don't have to pay for film or developing of not great shots. The only thing you have in practicing and learning is your time.
I know, im trying to take in as much as possible and coming here has given me the most feedback so far which is great, Especially on your own photographs. When you are online your always looking at others work and i really needed it on my own work in my own situations.
I gave this 5 stars, because I find the implementation of the rating system in these competitions really frustrating, and I want to encourage people who are genuinely interested in helping one another learn. But it's not a 5 star image.
As Troy said, the focus is off. It appears that the cuff of her left sleeve is much more in focus than the eyes, though even the cuff doesn't appear to be perfectly sharp. I'd say that the actual plane of focus is somewhere in front of her, though it's possible that there's some motion blur contributing to the blurriness also. Try to keep the camera as steady as possible. And if your subject is moving around a lot, consider raising your shutter speed a bit and raising the ISO.
How to fix this particular image? There's probably not a lot you can do, though it might be a good practice exercise to check out some of PiXimperfect's YouTube videos about sharpening in Photoshop. There are two that I can recommend: one is called "MISSED FOCUS? Save a Blurry Photo in Photoshop", and the other is called "How to Sharpen Eyes in Photoshop". That said, I doubt there's a lot you can do to actually save this. It's probably simply not a keeper image.
It's important to note that there is a big difference between a keeper image from a technical perspective, and an image that you want to keep because you have an emotional connection to it. For a good example of this, another good YouTube video is called "Why WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY is BORING (and how to change that)" but Jamie Windsor. I'm talking specifically about the part from 8.15 onwards. It's completely okay to feel an emotional connection to a technically imperfect photo, just don't kid yourself that it's a technically good image just because you feel a connection to it.
How to nail a sharper image in the future? Practice trying to get the eyes in focus. I don't shoot Canon so I can't give specific tips, but I'm sure there's plenty of Canon specific info out there. I'd also consider the necessity of shooting this at f/1.1. If you were having difficulty focusing, and there was plenty of light, then why not stop down a bit? I think most people who're new to photography go through the same phase - when you first get an ultra-fast lens, there's a tendency to start shooting everything wide open, because that dreamy blurry background looks so awesome and professional. But when you have a small child moving around a lot, it can be particularly difficult to nail focus, even with a camera/lens combo with great autofocus. I'd consider stopping down to f/2 or even further, and raising the ISO.
The other thing that I don't like about this photo is the composition. She's not centred in the photo, and it's a bit boring. Everything behind her is just kind of a blurred grey mush.
I'd think about doing one of three things:
1) Move in closer and get a much tighter crop of just her face and upper body. Try to fill the frame with the subject a bit more.
2) Step back and try to get more of the surrounding environment in the shot. i.e. the aforementioned puddle, the surrounding trees, the family dog (if you have one) etc. This photo just kind of sits in an awkward position between portrait and environmental portrait.
3) Process it in colour rather than black and white. Lots of blurry bokeh with vibrant colours can look great - e.g. autumn leaves in a forest, wildflowers in spring, Christmas lights, etc. If the background colours were a bit boring, then it's understandable that you chose to process it in black and white, but then I'd be even more likely to revisit points 1 and 2.
Hope that helps.
This definetly helps alot Matthew.
I totally understand about the emotional and technical side of photography and i 100% understand technically this is not a keeper. I posted this here as i feel technically with the gear i had this was my best to date and wanted the feedback on how to progress.
I had a very strong hunch that the focus was off. Her hand just stands out way too much and thanks to the likes of yourself and this community ive been given tips to just help the image. P.s i have shot this with manual and although this is no excuse, i have now purchased an AF lens which i can now compare my own images.
Ive seen many comments now regarding this image in colour and i will be looking into this back in LR.
I have read through your points 1-3 a few times now and i can relate them to my image. These comments have really changed how i see this image and images going forward.
Thankyou for the advice. It really helps. !!!
Glad it was helpful.
Recognising whether you've managed to get the subject in focus becomes more instinctual over time. If you look for the sharpest object in a photo, everything that was the same distance from the camera should also be equally sharp.
If nothing in the photo is tack sharp, then you likely have a bit of camera shake or motion blurr, or (less likely) an issue with the lens.
Manual focus only lenses can take sharp photos, and lenses with autofocus can miss focus too. In ideal conditions, with good light and a subject that is not moving, you should be able to nail focus every time. In less than ideal conditions it will be down to a combination of skill, luck and technology.