My 3 year old daughter running with kite. I am a new subscriber and this is my first real attempt at creative photography and Photoshop editing - so go easy on me! I wanted to keep just my girl and th

I am a new subscriber and this is my first real attempt at creative

photography and Photoshop editing - so go easy on me! I used

Photoshop lens blur to keep just my girl and the kite in focus to

create the connection. Sadly, I did not capture the whole kite in

picture. Taken with my old Olympus C-2000 (2MP). I have just bought

a Canon 350D - so look out world!

Is this a manipulated scene, or did you really catch your daughter off the ground like that?

Her dress is a little bit overxposed I think. But it is a very nice moment. Her being not touching to the ground is excellent.

Manipulated only in terms of adding blur around the main features. Not superimposed. Her right foot is on the ground, left foot in the air while running.

your daughter's complexion, on this image, seems to be lit differently than the background. Not sure what to say beyond that technically. You clearly have a great eye. Keep it up.

I think the blur is a little bit "precious", and I'd like to see the picture without it. I'm happy and impressed to hear that this is mostly an unmanipulated photo -- it's a real coup of timing. I wouldn't worry too much about the kite being partially out of frame, I don't think that harms the composition very much. Kites are kites, it's the young one's facial expression and bodily posture which give this picture its interest, IMHO.

 

Now I don't know nuttin' about nuttin', so take all of this for what it's worth: exactly what you paid for it. :-)

You've captured one of the great things about childhood: she is totally engrossed in flying her kite. One can imagine she feels like she is flying along with it...and that impression is heightened by her left foot being off the ground. The viewer can't see her right foot on the ground so can become involved emotionally with her in the feeling that she's flying. I do agree with Ben's comment about the blur maybe being a little too "precious". The photo's effective on it's own. I like this alot! Great capture. J

This is a lovely image that does break some rules -- but works wonderfully because of it. Since your daughter is the minority tone (light) against a basically dark background, what you have is a low key image. I wouldn't go for more detail by darkening her.

 

The only possible thing I might experiment with is deepening the light parts of the background a little more -- and maybe even the sky as well. Then perhaps I might see what cropping a little more on the right and maybe on the top might do.

 

If this image is typical of the work you do, I will say you have some real talent -- a natural in fact.

Many thanks for your excellent comments

Here's a suggestion. Ease off on the blur near the bottom of the frame. That will more closely mimic the look of a large-aperture lens. The grass under your young sprite's feet is in the focal plane, so my eye, at least, wants it to be sharp.

 

If you try this suggestion out, I'd be pleased to see the result.

overall composition is beautiful. baby is so cute.

Yeah, it is a nice moment with her foot off the ground. A bigger aperture woulda blurred the background more, but that's just my preference. Nice image - good luck with the new cam.