What am I doing wrong? Pictures lack the "wow" factor.

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MadaCup

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Edit My Images
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I took a number of pictures this morning of my son ready for Christmas cards and while they are nice pictures, I feel they really lack the wow factor that I see on these forums.

I appreciate I am a beginner but I'd like to open myself up to criticism and advice to make myself a better photographer.

So, do your worst :)

Note that I placed a desk lamp to the left of my son to add some extra light but this may not necessarily have helped matters. These were shot as RAW and are straight out of the camera.

Edit: these were shot with a 60D using a Tamron 17-50mm non-vc lens at f2.8.

Harry as a reindeer:

IMG_0124.jpg


Harry eating Sophie:

IMG_0185.jpg
 
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RAW files need processing, sure that would make a big difference and the photos you see on here will i'm sure have received that treatment

You can use ACR which is found in Photoshop, Elements and Lightroom, alternatively use DPP which should have come with your camera

Look upon RAW as the negative and post processing as developing, they are not designed to be straight from the camera
 
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Try more interesting compositions - rule of thirds, for example, or focus on detail like a close up of his eye or something. Experiment with depth of field by going close in with a large aperture. Do you use post-processing? Try photoshop elements to boost the contrast, saturation etc (go easy though).
 
Well I'm no expert, but the top one looks to me like it could do with more diffused light - too many hard shadows on the background and soft shadow cast from the left. If you could manage to get a lot of (diffused) reflected daylight into the area, that might help pep things up.

The way the blanket edge comes down from the left and changes direction behind Harry's head is a bit distracting for me too - could you get the blanket to act as a back-drop and hide the wall?
 
On the first maybe try and get more light in as Harry seems to maybe be a bit in a shaded area, a small amount of fill flash perhaps might be better than none. Also a edit in RAW might help the second a lot
 
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That's what I'd say about the first one ^, its a basic observation and something you learn to notice if not when choosing your angle, at least in the viewfinder.
When shooting in natural light, do not stand in the path of that light to take the shot..:D
 
You say lack wow factor, they lack anything...... Sorry to be harsh.

Practice on a stuffed toy, instead of the little one, this will give you more time to mess with settings on the camera and lights.

Initially foret lights, try to do this in natural lighting.
 
I'm with the above post. Sorry to be harsh, but you just plonk your son on the sofa, do nothing else, and take a snaphot of him and expect to create something more than a snapshot of your Son on a sofa. Where did you expect the wow to come from? The camera isn't going to give it to you. You have to create it, and it comes from great lighting, composition and setting.

Someone suggested it's the processing of the RAW files, but it's not.. it's because you've done nothing to craft the photograph. You don't TAKE good photographs, you make them. Messing with your RAW files is not going to change the type of lighting, or the direction it's coming from, or your composition, or the fact that your background is a dirty blanket.

Good lighting is what makes good photographs. Good composition is also essential, and a great setting. These shots have neither. Good lighting takes a lot of practice... you can't just place a table lamp next to him and expect something other than what is is.. a shot of him sitting on the sofa lit by a table lamp. Do some reading on the subject of lighting, and practice with a more patient subject.

Oh.. and switch off the on camera flash and never turn it on again unless you want to use it as a fill-flash.

Photography is a complex, involved and difficult subject and you have to be willing to learn a great deal, so as someone else suggested, practice with other subjects that allow you more time. Get a book on lighting, and spend some time reading it, or look at YouTube tutorials. It's too big a subject to cover in a forum thread, but you also need a basic understanding of photographic theory too. Are you using the camera manually, and do you understand what you are doing? If not, then THAT'S where you should start. Understanding shutter speeds, apertures, and ISO, and the relationship between them.

You also need to think about the "set".

Look at the second shot for example: That backdrop... looks awful. It looks like you've thrown a blanket over the sofa. The reason it looks like that, is because that's what it is. If you want wow.. you put wow into the shot. It's not even a clean blanket... it's dirty. I'm not being funny, but what else were you expecting other than a snapshot of your son against a background of a dirty blanket?
 
Ok so taking the comments on board I think I need to improve the following:

Composition: Being 11 weeks old I can't think how else I could prop him up but I don't think the throw adds anything to the shot. I'll find something more plain and neutral next time. I tried something different in the 2nd shot as the flash directly at him created all kind of shadows.

Light: Some good suggestions, I may invest in a better flash like the Canon 430ex II so I can point it upwards for some full flash.

Editing: I get the feeling that if you don't get the composition and lighting right then you still can't perform miracles so these aspects are the most important. However, I still think this is something I need to read up on.

Is that a fair summary?

I do have a Sigma 30mm 1.4 which I will try next time but I went with the zoom so I could move around more (mrs was moaning at me to hurry up as he was getting grizzly!).
 
Pookeyhead said:
I'm with the above post. Sorry to be harsh, but you just plonk your son on the sofa, do nothing else, and take a snaphot of him and expect to create something more than a snapshot of your Son on a sofa. Where did you expect the wow to come from? The camera isn't going to give it to you. You have to create it, and it comes from great lighting, composition and setting.

Someone suggested it's the processing of the RAW files, but it's not.. it's because you've done nothing to craft the photograph. You don't TAKE good photographs, you make them. Messing with your RAW files is not going to change the type of lighting, or the direction it's coming from, or your composition, or the fact that your background is a dirty blanket.

Good lighting is what makes good photographs. Good composition is also essential, and a great setting. These shots have neither. Good lighting takes a lot of practice... you can't just place a table lamp next to him and expect something other than what is is.. a shot of him sitting on the sofa lit by a table lamp. Do some reading on the subject of lighting, and practice with a more patient subject.

Oh.. and switch off the on camera flash and never turn it on again unless you want to use it as a fill-flash.

Photography is a complex, involved and difficult subject and you have to be willing to learn a great deal, so as someone else suggested, practice with other subjects that allow you more time. Get a book on lighting, and spend some time reading it, or look at YouTube tutorials. It's too big a subject to cover in a forum thread, but you also need a basic understanding of photographic theory too. Are you using the camera manually, and do you understand what you are doing? If not, then THAT'S where you should start. Understanding shutter speeds, apertures, and ISO, and the relationship between them.

You also need to think about the "set".

Look at the second shot for example: That backdrop... looks awful. It looks like you've thrown a blanket over the sofa. The reason it looks like that, is because that's what it is. If you want wow.. you put wow into the shot. It's not even a clean blanket... it's dirty. I'm not being funny, but what else were you expecting other than a snapshot of your son against a background of a dirty blanket?
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No I think that's fair, some good suggestions and I will take them on board. I don't mind the pictures being torn apart if I can then ensure I don't make the same mistakes again. We all have to start somewhere.

Yes, I understand the theory of exposure but find it difficult to apply it in manual. This is totally down to lack of practice. There was too much going on when he is wriggling around and I had to make sure I got something at least and for that reason I **** in aperture priority mode.

The only thing I don't agree with is the dirty blanket comment, I can assure you it's not dirty as I wouldn't put my son near it :thinking: Not quite sure where that comes from as it had only yesterday been washed :shrug:
 
You don't agree there's a big black dirty mark on that blanket? I'm sorry, but there is, and it looks awful. Disagree all you want :) The fact is though... you didn't notice it was dirty at the time, and more worryingly, after you shot it.

Practice with a more patient subject, or a stuffed toy then.. give yourself time to work things out fully, and understand what you are doing. Nothing wrong with aperture priority if you need to work fast, but you'll learn more by balancing aperture against shutter speed, as there are related to one another closely, as is ISO.
 
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Looks more like the shadow of a crease in the blanket than a dirty mark - you're being unnecessarily harsh IMO.
 
Pookeyhead said:
You don't agree there's a big black dirty mark on that blanket? I'm sorry, but there is, and it looks awful. Disagree all you want :) The fact is though... you didn't notice it was dirty at the time, and more worryingly, after you shot it.

Practice with a more patient subject, or a stuffed toy then.. give yourself time to work things out fully, and understand what you are doing. Nothing wrong with aperture priority if you need to work fast, but you'll learn more by balancing aperture against shutter speed, as there are related to one another closely, as is ISO.
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Where? The dark area in the second picture is where the throw was tucked in to the sofa. The throw is 100% clean, we are very particular about cleanliness especially when it comes in to contact with a newborn.

Yes, I will give that a go. I know how the exposure meter works and how I'd juggle shutter speed and aperture in manual mode but so far I'd typically leave ISO on auto.
 
Oh here we go.....

everyone's more bothered that I mentioned the dirty blanket. Look, it wasn't a comment about the OP's hygiene or laundry skills!!! It's there, and it's ruining the shot.

Stop being so sensitive.
 
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Pookeyhead said:
Oh here we go.....

everyone's more bothered that I mentioned the dirty blanket. Look, it wasn't a comment about the OP's hygiene or laundry skills!!! It's there, and it's ruining the shot.

Stop being so sensitive.
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I don't think its a matter of everybody focussing on the dirty mark comment, its just that you aren't allowing the fact that its a shadow to change your mind about it being 'dirty'

Everything else was valid though!
 
I don't do people, but here's a quick edit, nothing too complex, just a boost in saturation, crop, a bit of cloning and brightening up. All can be done in your RAW program (except the cloning). I am sure others can do a lot better job of it.

You need to play around with lighting, if you have only got a built-in flash, use something to diffuse the light, like tissue paper or an opaque bit of plastic milk bottle.

Let me know if you'd prefer me to remove it.

1ug42xze.jpg
 
Pookeyhead said:
Oh here we go.....

everyone's more bothered that I mentioned the dirty blanket. Look, it wasn't a comment about the OP's hygiene or laundry skills!!! It's there, and it's ruining the shot.

Stop being so sensitive.
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No it's that you are wrong!
 
Pookeyhead said:
Oh here we go.....

everyone's more bothered that I mentioned the dirty blanket. Look, it wasn't a comment about the OP's hygiene or laundry skills!!! It's there, and it's ruining the shot.

Stop being so sensitive.
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I'll take your criticism all day regarding the photography and you have raised some very valid points, I am just making it clear that you are wrong about the blanket being dirty. It's not and its simply a crease where it's been tucked in to the sofa. That said I now see what you mean about it being more of a snapshot of a baby sitting on the sofa than it being well composed.

I feel I have a better understanding of where I went wrong but 1 question remains: how do you photo an 11 week old without just dumping him on the floor? We used the corner of the sofa as a way to prop him up. I'm struggling to think of an alternative given that he can't sit up himself yet. Hopefully I can revisit this once I get my hands on a better flash and see how I can improve the shot.
 
in the first picture it looks grubby - but in fact its shadow caused by harsh directional light, and possibly an overly warm white balance, also the swirly pattern on the blanket isnt helping - i'd say get a white/pale fleece from tesco or similar and keep it for photo sessions

also try to nest the fleece so that it is 100% of the background - the first picture is marred by the texture change behind his head

also while post procesing isnt going to save a bad picture it is still critical to a good one, you can boost contast and saturation and sharpen (all raw files are a bit soft SOOC) - the second photo would also be improved without the fold to the right so you could crop it to square to eliminate that

in terms of lighting i'd either use natural light and a reflector, or a flash gun and bounce it off the ceiling , or use a diffuser - either way the aim is to get a soft light with minimal shadow
 
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MadaCup said:
how do you photo an 11 week old without just dumping him on the floor? We used the corner of the sofa as a way to prop him up. I'm struggling to think of an alternative given that he can't sit up himself yet. Hopefully I can revisit this once I get my hands on a better flash and see how I can improve the shot.
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cushions under the fleece to prop him up - or get mum to hold him in her arms
 
SLRUser said:
I don't do people, but here's a quick edit, nothing too complex, just a boost in saturation, crop, a bit of cloning and brightening up. All can be done in your RAW program (except the cloning). I am sure others can do a lot better job of it.

You need to play around with lighting, if you have only got a built-in flash, use something to diffuse the light, like tissue paper or an opaque bit of plastic milk bottle.

Let me know if you'd prefer me to remove it.
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No that's great, that's more of the end result I was hoping for.

Now I see the flaws in the shot I feel I can improve on each of these and the result will be much better.

The good news is that I feel that I want to improve even though photography is far more complex than perhaps I first appreciated. I have spent a fair amount on kit recently and perhaps naively thought this would lead to brilliant pictures so I have come back down to earth with a bang.

I'm not very good at washing clothes either but luckily my girlfriend is :LOL:
 
I can only repeat what has been said above, the backgrounds on them for me are the biggest distraction. The only thing I would add is that on the second, I think that my eye is constantly drawn to the shadow at the bottom, which is a little distracting. Regardless of whether they have the wow factor or not however they are still nice pictures for the family album and you have been given some good suggestions above to try again.
 
There are also some hints/tips/props here:-

[YOUTUBE]zpRf-6gFAL0[/YOUTUBE]
 
MadaCup said:
I'll take your criticism all day regarding the photography and you have raised some very valid points, I am just making it clear that you are wrong about the blanket being dirty.
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OK OK.. we get it... your blanket is clean... Christ on a stick! LOL

Is calling someone's blanket dirty such a faux pas? When did people get so sensitive? Stuff gets dirty.. you wash it. Get a grip.
 
Or you could always say sorry for your mistake rather than compounding it :shrug:
 
I am sorry, yes. I already said I wasn't suggesting that the OP was "dirty" I just honestly thought it was a smudge of whatever on the blanket. Whatever it is, it's just one of the reasons blankets thrown over a sofa make very poor backdrops.

Why not just use the natural surroundings if you don't have a decent backdrop... it may have been better just to use the sofa itself without the blanket actually.. what colour is it?
 
I would lay your son down on some soft floor with no distracting background he should lift his head to look at you.(its a good idea to prop a pillow underneath for support but cover the pillow)...then shoot at low level...i would not do this for too long as the little guy will get tired very quickly...

You could always use the back of the sofa as a back drop..nice flat back ground then
 
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Someone further up posted a link to using booster cushions to allow him to sit up a little.. if you do that you can place him somewhere where there IS no bacground, or at least somewhere there the background is far away so you can allow depth of field to blur it out of recognition. That will focus the viewer's attention to where it needs to be instead of having a lot of distractions to look at.
 
A V pillow, a duvet rolled up with a throw over it or borrow a bean bag would be a useful support for your son. Try placing your son near a large window or patio door for better natural light, just enjoy experimenting, you will soon learn what works best. What I find is key with children and baby portraits is staying at their level for the best eye contact.

Happy snapping.
 
I don't know if you can give these two images a WoW factor but IMVHO they could be improved by cropping out some of the setting as follows...

bon1.jpg


These have also had slight adjustment in Levels and also a slight boost in saturation.
 
Pookeyhead said:
I'm with the above post. Sorry to be harsh, but you just plonk your son on the sofa, do nothing else, and take a snaphot of him and expect to create something more than a snapshot of your Son on a sofa. Where did you expect the wow to come from? The camera isn't going to give it to you. You have to create it, and it comes from great lighting, composition and setting.

Someone suggested it's the processing of the RAW files, but it's not.. it's because you've done nothing to craft the photograph. You don't TAKE good photographs, you make them. Messing with your RAW files is not going to change the type of lighting, or the direction it's coming from, or your composition, or the fact that your background is a dirty blanket.

Good lighting is what makes good photographs. Good composition is also essential, and a great setting. These shots have neither. Good lighting takes a lot of practice... you can't just place a table lamp next to him and expect something other than what is is.. a shot of him sitting on the sofa lit by a table lamp. Do some reading on the subject of lighting, and practice with a more patient subject.

Oh.. and switch off the on camera flash and never turn it on again unless you want to use it as a fill-flash.

Photography is a complex, involved and difficult subject and you have to be willing to learn a great deal, so as someone else suggested, practice with other subjects that allow you more time. Get a book on lighting, and spend some time reading it, or look at YouTube tutorials. It's too big a subject to cover in a forum thread, but you also need a basic understanding of photographic theory too. Are you using the camera manually, and do you understand what you are doing? If not, then THAT'S where you should start. Understanding shutter speeds, apertures, and ISO, and the relationship between them.

You also need to think about the "set".

Look at the second shot for example: That backdrop... looks awful. It looks like you've thrown a blanket over the sofa. The reason it looks like that, is because that's what it is. If you want wow.. you put wow into the shot. It's not even a clean blanket... it's dirty. I'm not being funny, but what else were you expecting other than a snapshot of your son against a background of a dirty blanket?
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really goods points but come on , you know you were making an issue of the "dirty" blanket, you mention it's not clean and and that it's dirty 3 times, so 4 references to the cleanliness of the blanket and then you say you weren't making an issue of it...I would hate to get on your wrong side if that's you not making an issue ;)

but as said I think your post was spot on.

OP think of a baby pic you have seen and thought was great, I bet they are not sitting on a couch with poor lighting, as for how can you pose the baby, there are great shots of younger babies than yours posed in baskets etc even lying down looking into the camera would be an improvement.

I'm not saying your pic is bad, but it is, what it is, a good family snap shot, not a pro shot someone would pay for.
 
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snigg said:
really goods points but come on , you know you were making an issue of the "dirty" blanket, you mention it's not clean and and that it's dirty 3 times, so 4 references to the cleanliness of the blanket and then you say you weren't making an issue of it.
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I was making an issue of it photographically, yes. Everyone acted as if I was calling the OP and his house "dirty".

Anyway.. I thought I'd apologised for that, so well done for dragging this up again from page 1.
 
For God's sake guys, can we please put blanket-gate behind us and move on?

There's been some fantastic critique in this thread. In fact, I'd like to see more like this and it'll be a real shame to ruin it by carrying on about one single comment that's already been discussed and explained to death.
 
Amen.
 
woof woof said:
I don't know if you can give these two images a WoW factor but IMVHO they could be improved by cropping out some of the setting as follows...

bon1.jpg


These have also had slight adjustment in Levels and also a slight boost in saturation.
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And they've just made some bad photo's slightly better.

Sorry Alan, but the OP wants to know how to make photo's WOW and he's had some great advice. I think we dilute that advice if we say 'there's a lot that can be done in PP'. Because with photo's this bad - there isn't. No amount of PP will take the OP from where he is to where he wants to be.

PP is how we make great photo's fabulous, fabulous photos WOW, but we can't make good photo's great or bad photo's good.
 
Phil V said:
And they've just made some bad photo's slightly better.

Sorry Alan, but the OP wants to know how to make photo's WOW and he's had some great advice. I think we dilute that advice if we say 'there's a lot that can be done in PP'. Because with photo's this bad - there isn't. No amount of PP will take the OP from where he is to where he wants to be.

PP is how we make great photo's fabulous, fabulous photos WOW, but we can't make good photo's great or bad photo's good.
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Rescuing something worth saving and not putting these shots straight in the recycling bin was exactly my point and something which I didn't think anyone else had covered, which is why I did.

I'm sure we've all taken flat images like these and the best advice I can give to the OP is to not simply reach for a camera but to really look at the scene first and think how and even if a good photograph can be taken. In this setting with this background and lighting I think I'd have got close and gone all arty and shot with limited DoF, that'd probably have been my choice. Other than that they're record family shots and worth keeping, which after all is no bad thing.
 
woof woof said:
Rescuing something worth saving and not putting these shots straight in the recycling bin was exactly my point and something which I didn't think anyone else had covered, which is why I did.
.
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thing is , why are they worth saving - they are poor, the best thing the OP can do is delete them (or keep them to look at when he's dramatically improved to see how far he's come)

if you've got some ireplaceable memory shots like shots of your kids first steps, or his birthday party, school play etc , then yes , make them as good as possible with PP to 'rescue them'

but if you've just got some random shots of a baby plonked on the sofa - i'd say reshooting is the way to go
 
yeah i notice they were shot at f2.8 - which is too thin a dof for this kind of shot
 
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