After a hard week of saving the world...

[Josh Blackwood]

Sometimes you just want to go play in the park of a Sunday.

I went to Callaway Gardens, a sort of local botanical gardens attraction, with my parents, grandmother, aunt, cousin and her three-year-old son. I was the 'designated photographer', and got this shot on the way back to the car from the slide. He really likes Superman, and insisted on wearing his Superman pajamas through our picnic lunch and until our jaunt to the vegetable garden.

He's an incredibly cute kid, and I've got a ton more shots of him from yesterday. The best ones are of him playing in the lake; I'll post one or two later, I haven't had time to post-process them yet. I just loved this shot, and had to post it and see what y'all thought of it.

This was shot at f/5.0, with a shutter speed of 1/2500 and an ISO of 800 in RAW, with white balance and exposure tweaked in Camera Raw, as well as noise reduction, sharpening and a quick crop. It was the only shot I got from this angle, and his foot regrettably wasn't fully in the frame (that's not cropped out). Lots more of this little guy to come once I've done the post-processing!

Critique welcome!

 

[Ken Tanaka]

This is a cute shot, Josh. I'm sure you will treasure it as a family memento for generations to come.

Writing now PURELY from an ideal photographic perspective, as if the shot was commissioned for documentary or editorial rather than the split-second snapshot that it probably was.

1. The boy's physical gesture and posture is just about perfect. Specifically, his slight head tilt, his arms both visible and slightly out from his body, and the gentle breeze extending his cape are just about perfect to set the tone of the image.

2. A camera position well below the boy's eyes, perhaps a foot or so off the ground, would have really amped-up the heroic feeling. Of course that assumes that the background (in front of the boy) would not be more distracting than the glaring midday-sunlit ground in front of the boy.

3. Fill flash would really have made a BIG difference here.

But, again, this was a terrific personal scene to spot and be able to quickly grab.

 

[Gary Ayala]

To add to Ken's assessment, yes a lower point of view would have brought the viewer into the photo on a more personal ... Ken wanted to shoot up in what is called a "Superman" angle ... for me just being at the same eye level would have worked.

Additionally, clipping the feet (foot) is a bit distracting. It is attention to the little details which separate the good photos from the exceptional ... the Supermen from mere mortals.

Gary

 

[Josh Blackwood]

This is a cute shot, Josh. I'm sure you will treasure it as a family memento for generations to come.

Writing now PURELY from an ideal photographic perspective, as if the shot was commissioned for documentary or editorial rather than the split-second snapshot that it probably was.

1. The boy's physical gesture and posture is just about perfect. Specifically, his slight head tilt, his arms both visible and slightly out from his body, and the gentle breeze extending his cape are just about perfect to set the tone of the image.

2. A camera position well below the boy's eyes, perhaps a foot or so off the ground, would have really amped-up the heroic feeling. Of course that assumes that the background (in front of the boy) would not be more distracting than the glaring midday-sunlit ground in front of the boy.

3. Fill flash would really have made a BIG difference here.

But, again, this was a terrific personal scene to spot and be able to quickly grab.

Thanks very much for the honest critique, and the kind words, Ken! I've been working on learning more about exposure, lighting and proper use of fill flash in the past few days. Next time I'm able to get out with the little guy, I'll definitely remember your suggestions about perspective.

Thanks again!

To add to Ken's assessment, yes a lower point of view would have brought the viewer into the photo on a more personal ... Ken wanted to shoot up in what is called a "Superman" angle ... for me just being at the same eye level would have worked.

Additionally, clipping the feet (foot) is a bit distracting. It is attention to the little details which separate the good photos from the exceptional ... the Supermen from mere mortals.

Gary

Haha, nice play on words, Gary. Duly noted, and thanks! I'll get some more pics up soon.

Thanks,

Josh