My son in our front yard
by Jewelly

Comment by lynnmarie:
It is the eyes that make this photo so striking! Nice job!

Josh age 16
by Jewelly

Comment by lynnmarie:
This is really good! I think his smile looks very natural. My son is almost 16, and is not too thrilled about posing for me either. I think you are on the right track. Keep shooting!

My son in our front yard
by Jewelly

Comment by Jewelly:
Louis, Thanks for the explanation of Bokeh. I am thinking that the way to soften those cirlce would be to have the backgorund father away then. Is that correct?
Julie
PS-Sorry about your name, I fixed it.

My son in our front yard
by Jewelly

Comment by Louis:
Julie, bokeh is generally understood to be the out-of-focus elements of a photo, either foreground or background. Technically, it's the way out of focus points of lights, sometimes indeed seen as circles, are rendered in a photo. A "wiry" bokeh means that the "circles" have a kind of harder rim around them, instead of a nice soft uniform colour. As I mentioned though, bokeh is more commonly understood to be the out-of-focus parts of a photo.


Message edited by author 2006-09-02 09:59:23.

My son in our front yard
by Jewelly

Comment by Jewelly:
Louis,
Thanks for the critique. In answer to your question I did not use a reflector. It was just a snapshot but I think I would like to see what a reflector could do for me. I was thinking the background would have been better just as grass but he was sitting on the steps of my front porch, and I was on the porch, so I could be above him. I think maybe I will try it with a ladder or something so we can achive the same effect without the concrete behind him. I have heard of bokeh but not enough to understand what you mean. I think I remember reading you want it to looks more like circles?

Message edited by author 2006-09-02 02:42:08.

My daughter at home
by Jewelly

Comment by Louis:
Wow, this is great. Profile is fantastic, and her position in-frame is perfect. The dark, highly out-of-focus background works perfectly. The light in her eyes is really wonderful. This one seems a little tighter than the rest, making the focus on her eyes really outstanding. Maybe my favourite of the four, but they're all really great. You're quite good at these portraits, and I would suggest that you'd make a great candid portrait photographer.

My son in our front yard
by Jewelly

Comment by ursula:
The eyes, again, are really beautiful. The green matches the greenery behind him. Your children are fortunate to have you to make images of them.

Josh age 16
by Jewelly

Comment by ursula:
Yeah, I like this one! He's looking straight at the camera, all that needs to be in focus is, the composition, colours are great. Very nice!

My daughter at home
by Jewelly

Comment by ursula:
Beautiful picture of your daughter! I like how her eyes are so bright and shiny. Love the colours.

My son in our front yard
by Jewelly

Comment by Louis:
Another great portrait. This one is particularly pleasing, with lovely saturated colours, intriguing posture, and stunning catchlights in his eyes. The eyes are really a fantastic feature here, with good clarity, and of course that great unusual colour (they look almost green to me). Background is okay; somewhat distracting to me. Bokeh looks a bit wiry. Exposure is again somewhat off perhaps, but still good. I'm wondering why the ISO on these portraits is so high in what looks like excellent lighting conditions. I like the shadows and highlights you've achieved on his face; well done (did you use a reflector?). Overall, an excellent portrait; really well done.