Comments by Jeff Dye on Tue, 11/13/12 20:12
Photos of your son will always be good as he grows. You caught him at a peak of
action, however, the viewer doesn't share your emotional connection so the photo
displays some problems. He's very small within the frame and positioned dead center.
The glaring white space is distracting and he doesn't stand out very well from the
background. A wider aperture, f2 or 2.8 would've softened the background. If it's tack
sharp it will stand up to some reasonable cropping. All in all the photo fits into your
"warm light/feel." You won't always get an outstanding photo of an active kid so keep
practicing and pay attention to their surroundings.
Comments by Alias on Tue, 11/13/12 22:29
You are on the right track.
You nailed the moment and the expression.
The lighting is very good.
Keep at it !
And post larger.
The 50 1.4 is a wonderful optic but you need to be close.
A doubler or a longer lens will make it much easier to fill the frame and blur the
background to separate the subject from the background. Even a "kit" zoom will help you.
.
Comments by Deb Alexander on Wed, 11/14/12 05:49
This is incredibly helpful, thank you SO MUCH.
Comments by Jeff Dye on Wed, 11/14/12 09:07
Assuming it's not a typo and you really do use a D800 you may not be aware of a
couple of things to consider using that powerhouse of a camera. I can only speak from
what I've read in a number of reviews. Those 36 MP's demand the best optics if you
want to take advantage of them. That does't mean a "kit lens" won't work but FX
cameras don't come with low end kit lenses designed for DX. That would be wasting
what the D800 has to offer and as long as you have a major investment in a camera
don't insult it with cheap glass.
Comments by HPhotography on Wed, 11/14/12 11:47
I a perfect world I would have looked to rotate your position to the right a little more to separate the foot from the face and catch more of your sons face in profile. Maybe take the shot from the ground level as if you were rolling in the leaves with him. Of course you then loose some of the sense of place and shoot at the sky.
Comments by les perry on Wed, 11/14/12 12:15
Good happy go lucky feel captured in the action.
Not sure if captured as a spur of the moment candid or as a more staged shot which one feels more could of been made of the structures in the bg to enhance the comp.
Looks like a place in Northamptonshire UK
Comments by Alias on Wed, 11/14/12 21:27
There is much to be said for jeff's point of view.
Basically he is saying don't put cheap tires on a Porsche.
Good point.
I am saying that even cheap "All Weather" tires will perform better in everyday driving than
the very best tires designed specifically for a clean dry racetrack.
Absolute ultimate performance will only be possible with prime lenses.
By "prime" I mean fixed focal length, (not zoom).
The 50 1.4 is a wonderful, (even legendary), prime lens, but not ideal for this image.
Camera lens performance is not the point for me.
Photographer performance is.
You did well with what was ay hand.
You can do better with more appropriate tools.
In a perfect world a beautiful, (or handsome), assistant hands you the right camera with the
right lens …
but here on planet earth ;-)
In the real world flexibility, weight, useability, and price may be more important than
ultimate resolution for most people in must situations. I am making recommendations
based on only one image but it seems to me that a kit zoom lens would have served you
far better in this case.
By all means buy the best you can afford, (and carry ;-)
but my main point is that a longer zoom lens will help you.
A wider one too but not for this image.
A couple or three good zooms will cover all of the focal lenths you will need and help you
to learn to frame in camera effortlessly.
Comments by Harry Liston on Sat, 11/17/12 20:30
A 50mm f:1.4 with eight or ten aperture blades should give excellent bokeh. Even when stopped down to f:5, the sense of depth is better than with a slower lens. I like the effect in this photo, even if the resolution is not very high.
Maybe there will come a day when sensor technology will do justice to these fine old lenses, but until then, you're probably better off with a lens designed specifically for digital.
