HI Paul,
Rich, DOF works for me, composition is good along with the lighting as mentioned it does look a bit staged - question is that chequered plate you have used as the background?
Numbers - On theme and a simple idea that works the addition of the train adds a bit of interest and colour
Thanks Craig - my fears about the cookies just not being sharp enough was obviously unfounded
There are no plates involved in the production of this photo... the props you see and a kitchen floor!
Numbers is definitely simple, but I think it's the better for it - it was also a handy test for me to play around with black backgrounds (taking it to a fairly extreme place in this instance)...
Right - more learning and playing now. Sorry guys and gals, but it's time for another catch up.
NATURAL (week 14). Now, living where I do and with hobbies such as climbing/walking etc... there are some easy subjects and choices. But by now you're getting to know me, and I don't usually favour the "obvious". So, for natural I decided to take your comments onboard re: Rich and go for a completely unstaged shot - "natural", if you will. The subject is my son who is quite happy to pose for the camera (when he's in a good mood) but I managed to catch him unawares and, I have to say, I'm quite pleased with the shot. There's no eye contact, very little background and, for me, that makes the shot a lot more natural. It's pretty much the antithesis of Rich - a shot which was grabbed in a fleeting moment. He's thinking about something - most probably chasing pigeons or thinking about doing a jigsaw back home.
Natural: contemplation by
pjm1 (Paul), on Flickr
C&C welcome, although I realise there is a certain (and understandable) reluctance to critting family photos, especially kids. So, what I'd politely encourage (if it makes the crit more "comfortable"), to focus on the shot, composition, lighting and things which aren't personalised. Of course, you're most welcome to tell me my son is a handsome little fella, although sadly for me I think he takes most of that from his mother's genes!
I've played a touch in post with this - boosting the contrast around the edge of the face to try to make the image "pop" a bit more, whilst softening some of the lighting on the face itself. So not 100% natural, I guess!! Maybe I should title it "Natural?"
I used to spend 90% of my camera time taking photos of the kids, but with this challenge I've really enjoyed spreading my photographic wings a bit. So, in a way, it's quite nice to get back to a comfort zone of sorts, albeit I'm trying a few new things with this shot. I did like the lighting which was 100% natural light - the benefit of not enjoying the glorious sunshine here that most of you have probably had over recent days!
One point - the photo looks very "contrasty" when viewed on this forum - I think it's the white background. To me it looks 100x better (and far more natural) on Flickr at a decent resolution with a black background...
Edit: I did something stupid in Flickr so if you see a broken image symbol, Ctrl+F5 should refresh...
Thanks in advance everyone.