Ethan was playing very nicely with the watering can, when as I lined up to get a shot me saw that he had just been caught in the act of eating dirt! What is it with kids and dirt?
Anyway, sure this will get panned on DPC as a snapshot, he's a touch overexposed with the direct sunshine. No editing at all, aside from a resize.
Hope it fits the challenge as it conveys a strong sense of being caught, and hey it might make a good stock image.
Be kind.
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Hello! Surprise, I'm from the Critique Club, ready to tell you what you didn't want to know. :) Just kidding.. let's get started..
Initial Thoughts
I find this to be a very cute, and enjoyable image to view. It captures a moment very well, and while not technically apt in many instances, does what a photograph of this nature should. It grabs you, provokes an emotion (in my case, smiles), and records a memorable event.
Composition/Content
For the most part, I find your composition wonderful. Your eyes start pretty much on the child's eyes, and then are free to follow his body-line down to the watering can, tying the photo together. My own suggestion would be a closer crop at the top, as the negative space here doesn't, in my eyes, contribute anything but a minor distraction. In terms of content, the photo is definitely pretty clean, the action is limited to your subject, and clutter is practically non-existent. The walkway in the background is actually semi-helpful, giving a "companion" line to help with the DOF.
Background
Although it could probably benefit from being slightly more OOF (out of focus), you've done a nice job with the DOF. The two objects on the left side of the walkway are slightly distracting, but are common to candid type photography, and I only mention them as a possible helpful tool for the future, to train your eyes and mind to "see" the background during every shot. You might not always be physically able to move things, but with enough practice, you'll begin to intuitively remove things from an area, or circle around a subject, before ever beginning to compose a shot.
Camera Work/Technical
Focus here seems to be a touch soft, but again, this is common with candids, and sometimes even expected. Exposure is good, but could have benefitted from metering on a brighter area of the shot (into the sunlight more), and then worrying about brightening the shadows in post. The blown highlights on his face and head don't worry *me* too much, but in the context of DPC, it's far better to avoid them as much as possible. I see that you realize that it was a little over-exposed, so just knowing that is a good first step. If you, once again, try and train the mind to "see" this, it'll lead to much less instances of "oops", in the future.
Digital Processing
You say that you only resized. Perhaps, in the future, you might want to play around with levels, USM, and Hue/Saturation. These three things (primarily), could have really given this shot a little more bite, by giving a little more color and life to the shot. Don't be afraid to play around, even, in the end, if you don't like it, you can always submit the original still.. and in the end, you learn.
Fits the Challenge
This is the tricky part. Stock Photography means something different to almost anyone I talk to, but one thing most people agree on is that the image has to be diverse enough to sell to multiple markets. This shot almost has too much of a "personal" feel to it, but it's also something akin to shots I've seen in some major magazine markets like "Woman's World", "Parents", "Chatelaine" and the like. I don't feel it's a strong connection, but I don't feel it's particularily weak either.
My Opinion on the Photo
Just repeating some things I said earlier here.. A great moment captured, and a pleasure to view. Could benefit from some minor touch-ups, but take pride in your timing and good luck in the future.
I thought I'd make a couple of observations in hopes that it would be helpful for future competitions. One disclaimer: I've never ribboned myself! So, take it or leave it! :) Cute subject, by the way! There's a little too much light on the little fellow -- the highlights are blown out on his hair. The background is too distracting. It makes it look more like a snapshot than a stock photo. Cropping a little more off the top and setting his head on the rule of thirds in the upper right corner may have helped the composition if there had been a better background.
Even without the hugely overblown highlights on the child's face and head, I'd have my doubts about the suitability of this for stock. Add the no-composition element (subject placement in frame, half a watering-can, random nature of disorganised background), and the snap-shot nature of the overall look, and I can't see this doing anything at all here. Looks like it was shot with a high-quality camera, or at least carefully re-sized and presented though. 2
It's a really cute pose. I like the watering can. Unfortunately I find the edge of the sidewalk and the edge of the pipe distracting. And the blown highlights in the hair and side of the face of the subject really detract from the photo.
would like to see the full watering can as it makes this a gardening shot ... side of head a bit washed out... may want to move around to get a plainer backdrop. subject is cute and humor works well.
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