The First Smile

This is our first-born. The photo was taken when he was around 40 days

old; he had started to smile by then. This is one of my first

photographs. So hope to learn as time goes by and as our baby grows

up. Any suggestions on composition or other details are most welcome.

I had taken this with the in-built flash of F80. Nikon 28-105/3.5-4.5

lens, F/8 @ 1/60 sec, handheld.

Let me start by saying congratulations! Your baby is beautiful. There are several things that you could do to improve this photo. First would be to turn off the on camera flash. Natural light looks wonderful on babies and children. Placing the baby near a window can accomplish this effect.

 

If that is not possible try using a bounce flash or off camera flash, preferably with a diffuser. This will soften the light, and add some dimension to the picture. Another possibility would be to use black and white film. Personally I love black and white pictures of children, but I'll leave that up to you, as this is a matter of personal preference. Good luck with your baby and with your photography!

Great work - this candid shot really captures something about your son. I can offer only one piece of constructive criticism: off-camera flash. The flash on your camera is good for some situations, but is not really suited to portraiture. Several companies make reasonably-priced flash heads that can be mounted on a tripod and triggered by an infrared or radio transmitter that goes on your hot-shoe. Try one of these with the head tilted up 45 degrees toward the ceiling and positioned about 45 degrees relative to the line between your son and the lens. This might give more depth to the portraits. Also, you may want to invest in a true telephoto lens - something like a fixed 80mm or 105 lens - these tend to be higher quality optics than the zooms (they also have wider maximum apertures - good for depth-of-field/low-light). Other than that, excellent photo and keep up the good shooting. Oh, PS- try a 'pro' film like Fuji NPS or NPH. They are more expensive, and you won't find them at Walmart (try a pro-shop) - but they render color far better than consumer films like the fuji 200.