Remember:
–Read How to Critique a Photo
–Make a critique sandwich – something positive, something you would have done differently, something positive
–My rule: no improvement tip = deleted comment
–This will benefit the person leaving the photo critique just as much if not more than the person receiving the critique.
Thanks to Amy Johnson for submitting the following image.
Settings: ISO 1250, SS 1/80, f/4.2
You nailed exposure perfectly even in the difficult backlighting situation you had!!! Next time I’d bump up ISO a notch or two so you could get shutter speed closer to 1/125 or 1/160 – at 1/80, you’re taking a big risk of motion blur — especially with young kids. What a great moment you captured — the interaction and expressions are fantastic!!
What a fun moment! I love how you let / encouraged the group to have a good time. And being a lover of natural light, I love backlit photos. The highlights behind your group, however, pull my eye away from the moment because they are so strong. It might darken them in editing or try to find a way to diffuse them when taking the original – move them further away from the window, use sheer curtains, maybe even turn every one to the side and look for some catch lights? Genuine moments like this can’t be fixed in editing though, so way to capture it!
I know this family personally and this fun picture completely captures their fun and playful nature! I love how you captured the moment and it is real and completely unposed and natural. Next time, I would be careful to always keep your shutter speed over 1/160 with small children. At 1/80, you risk motion blur. But, this is a wonderful photo of some wonderful people! I am loving the natural light!
Well done. This is one of those photos that the family will cherish forever, especially as the kids get older. The only thing I would work on a little is the highlight coming from the window and around mom’s hair. It is a little distracting. I think maybe (and this is just me) I would have metered for the outside and then used a flash on the people. Kind of defeats the purpose of “natural light”, but it would eliminate the distracting highlight. I think at this point I would go in and try to darken the window highlights just a bit to draw the eye back down to your subjects. Great capture!
Crystal, how cool that you actually know them! They sure are an amazing family — I am their mothers’ helper/babysitter, and love every moment I’m with them! I would love to get together with you and shoot sometime if you’re interested! (unless you know these people from a ways off. :) ) Thanks for your input.
Such a sweet moment to capture. I love the backlighting.
There is a lot going on in the photo. I think that maybe adjusting the composition to having the family off centre to the right would eliminated some of the distraction on that side (heat register, flooring, wall and wire). I’d also bump up the ISO and SS to at least 1/125 or 1/250 to help get sharper focus on the moving children in the photo.
Great job capturing the everyday moments. Those lifestyle shots are my favourites. They end up in my scrapbooks as often as the special occasion shots and milestones!
Great moment, I would love to see this as a B&W conversion though. I think it would help alleviate the ‘busy’ background others have commented on.
Others suggested to up the ISO but wouldn’t that make the backlight of the windows too intense?
I love the moment you captured. I was about to say exactly what Jenine said above. I would love to see a B&W conversion! I think the conversion would make the family “pop” and stand out more in the frame.
What a fun photograph! The expressions on their faces are just priceless! What a clear image for using a lower shutter speed with kids. Kudos! I think some sheer curtains would soften that super bright background a bit but otherwise – this picture is wonderful. I would love to capture something like this of my own family!
Thanks to everyone who has commented! Your critiques have been very helpful. I do want to comment on the shutter speed — I was concerned about how low it was, but as it was, the photo was already a big noisy, and knowing my camera’s capabilities, I didn’t want to push the ISO much farther. I struggle finding a balance between the quality and actual sharpness of the photo…
I will definitely keep all your comments in mind for my next try! :)
Moments like these are priceless; in reality there is no time for rearrangement of furniture or making sure the room has the right lighting conditions. You did a wonderful job capturing this moment and freezing the motion of these playful little pumpkins. I would of done some editing to the image, such as cropping the image to the right in order to hide the pillows, this would also make the composition follow the rule of thirds; add a medium dark vignette around the edges to bring some depth to the image; and I would of bring down the exposure just a little bit.
I love the natural moment and the expressions of the group.
I would convert to black and white to minimize the distractions of all the colors and textures.
The lighting is beautiful and adds a lot to the image. Nice work.
first of all, this picture is absolutely beautiful & one they will all cherish forever. the interaction and genuine smiles are wonderful! like the others said, i would always keep your shutter speed above 1/125 with kiddos. embrace the grain ;) also, the bottom right with the air duct and cord is a little distracting so i would try to clone that out! but seriously, amazing picture. love the lighting and sweet smiles.
This is a super cute picture! The subjects don’t look too posed and are adorable! I might soften the highlights and warm the picture up a bit. Any way you decide to take this picture, it is one deserving of framing and display in a very visible place in the home!