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Critique Me-Kala at Inspired Photography
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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 critique just as much if not more than the person receiving the critique

If you are ready to hear the good and not so good about your photos please read Submit Your Photo for Critique.

Thank you to Kala at Inspired Photography for submitting this week’s image.
Settings: ISO 400, SS 1/100, f/4

14 Comments
  • September 10, 2011 at 7:03 AM

    What a sweet picture! I’m a newbie photographer but something I would have done-Maybe tried in B/w or Sepia, Love that bow as well sigh.. babies are just delish no matter what! :)

  • September 10, 2011 at 7:24 AM

    Aww what a cutie! Love that bow. I think I would have composed it with the basket a little further left and the top of the bow a little further down, and I would have warmed the picture up a bit, lowering the purple tone of the baby’s skin. Other than that, great pic! Nothing better than a baby in a basket!

  • September 10, 2011 at 7:35 AM

    such a sweet photo! One critique I have is her skin tone, which is really hard in baby pics! But I would agree, warm it up a bit, and I also would have softened it in photoshop/lightroom.
    I love her headband! This really is so sweet! I love her little mouth hanging open too!

  • Christina
    September 10, 2011 at 8:02 AM

    How precious. I love that you got her little double baby chin! I would have moved her a bit further forward or mashed the blanket down from in front of her though. This way we could see her cute little fingers too. Other than that though it is a nice photo.

  • September 10, 2011 at 9:50 AM

    Beautiful image, love the head band and the basket. It’s a really sweet photo, lovely sleepy pose.
    I would like to see it a bit softer and dreamy, maybe a nice vintage action with a bit of haze or something that adds a bit of soft warmth. Maybe widening your aperture to 2.8 depending on your lens could have made some areas out of focus and softer. Changing out the background for a warmer soft colour, could warm the image up a bit too.
    I love it in B&W on your website!

  • September 10, 2011 at 9:50 AM

    This is so sweet. I love the color palette you are working with here. Changes I would make would be shooting slightly over to the left side of the frame or turning the basket a smidge counter clockwise. One of the things that grabs my attention is her nose, which is so cute, but there is a bit too much nostril (I mean this in the kindest possible way-I don’t think it is something mom would notice). I also would have backed up just a step so there was a little room above her bow so the shot wasn’t quite so tight. I think you did a great job posing her in the basket and we get a clear view of her face. It really is a sweet image <3 <3 <3

  • September 10, 2011 at 9:59 AM

    What an cute photo! I adore it. All I would say is that maybe a warmer effect would be nice. Other than that, this baby is adorable. :)

  • September 10, 2011 at 10:05 AM

    Aww, what a sweet baby girl. I love her headband and the basket idea. Kudos’s for getting her to sleep! That no small feat! My only critiques are for skin tone and shooting up the nose just as the previous poster mentioned. I would work on a warmer skin tone and change your angle or the baby’s so that the camera is not shooting up the baby’s nose. This is a really lovely image though and I’m sure her parents will treasure it.

  • Amy
    September 10, 2011 at 10:13 AM

    That’s an adorable baby! (aren’t they all?) Great shot, except for one thing that kind of bothered me from the start — I would’ve zoomed out just a tad so the basket could’ve been a little more to the left and her hair bow would’ve been lower. Otherwise, I love it!

  • September 10, 2011 at 3:05 PM

    Such a cute photo! I love how her little mouth is open :). The sense I get from this photo is that everything is right with the world! I think I would have balanced the negative space a bit more by moving the basket to right and down in the frame so there was more negative space on top and on the left. I would also play with the levels in post processing to warm up her skin and remove some of the redness. I really like the peacefulness of the photo and the clarity. The depth of field is also quite beautiful. Thank you for sharing!

  • September 11, 2011 at 2:39 AM

    Awww! This is so, so sweet! I love the soft colors!

    I do think that having more basket, and negative space above her head, to get this closer to the rule of thirds would really improve the composition on this one. I would also like to see this softened. I am not sure what you were using for your light source, but you might even try using a diffuser if you are trying to avoid editing. It also looks to me like the focus in this image falls largely on the basket in the bottom left. It draws my eye down to that corner, when we want it to stay on the sweet, sweet baby :)

    I love your styling, and your positioning is great :) This is a truly adorable photo!

  • September 13, 2011 at 2:05 AM

    I love the soft colors of this photo. The basket, bow, blanket, and background provide a lovely setting for this cutie.

    What did her skin look like SOOC? I am wondering if in post processing your sharpening caused her skin to be a little to pixelated or that is how it appears to me. A great way to fix that in post processing (if you use PS or PSE) is erase the sharpening from her skin using a soft black brush on a white layer mask or apply CoffeeShop Perfect Portrait action and it contains a layer for softening.

    I agree with Sarah and would LOVE to see this with a vintage feel. I think adding a haze effect and warming it up would really make the photo feel more innocent and dreamy just like a newborn baby sleeping.

    I also agree that the focus seems to fall down in the lower camera left corner of the basket vs. directly on her cute little face.

    Lastly, the lighting is a little flat. I would love to see more shadows on her right cheek/forehead/chin area. It adds more dimension.

    Otherwise, I really like the composition. She feels the frame and you can see the props, but they’re not too distracting.

    I als

  • September 13, 2011 at 1:07 PM

    Very sweet for sure.
    I do like the composition, for my taste is very well balanced. I agree with the focus being on the basket.
    I also agree with the skin tone being a little off and grainy, maybe lowering the ISO would do the trick. (I am guilt of higher ISO as well).
    I would love to see more contrast, maybe a different background would give the pop.

  • January 23, 2012 at 2:41 PM

    Kala, what a darling subject you got to photograph! I love how you captured her sleeping with the mouth kind of open. Such a sweet part of babies we don’t want to forget. I would have stepped back about a foot so you could have included more negative space above her headband. It feels very tight right there. It would have also been nice if you could have seen her whole little body. Not sure if that possible.

    Thank you for taking the proper safety precautions for babies. I like that you included a blanket in the basket she she isn’t just laying on a wooden basket. I do wish the towel was pushed down a little by her hand so you can see her little hand against her face.

    The image looks a little dark to me. You could have opened up your aperture to f/3.2 which would have brought in a little more light. I would pull up the exposure or brightness just a smidge in post processing.

    Was the baby facing the window? I would turn her so she is at a 45 degree angle from the window. This would allow some nice soft shadows to fall on her face giving it a little more dimension.

    Shooting newborns can be such a challenge and I think you did a great job! Remember to take our critiques as just food for thought. The ultimate goal is for your vision to shine through.

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