I've been lurking and this is my first post. The pic isnt up to the usual standard here but since Jeff said things were a little slow so here goes. This is my wife and 6 week old daughter.
Tech details: T400CN, 50mm lens, 1/30 sec f/2. Rangefinder. Windowlight.



-- Fred Sun (redsky3@yahoo.com), June 27, 2001

Answers

I like this a lot. Some people will insist that the baby should be in focus, but I like the way the selective focus makes this a portrait of the mother as a mother, and not the mother and baby as a couple.

Some minor nits: I would burn in the bright spots above and to the left (our left) of the baby's head. If it's there on the negative I would like to see the rest of the mother's hand. Finally, I would take a bit off the top and bottom to make the frame more square, which to my eye is more pleasing with the oval shape set up by the mother's head and arms.

For what it's worth, my effort at this type of thing is here :-)

http://www.sljus.lu.se/People/Struan/Twins/pics/feed_dlmag.jpg

-- Struan Gray (struan.gray@sljus.lu.se), June 28, 2001.

I like this, too. This is leaps and bounds the most important kind of photograph one could ever take. I agree with Sruan about your wife's left hand and other framing details. I also agree that your daughter being slightly out of focus is not a bad thing. I think your wife is emphasized nicely on account of it, yet your daughter is still depicted perfectly in all her babiness. I think the exposure and overall "tonality" of this photograph is wonderful. Maybe it's easy for some, but I often have a difficult time achieving, as with this photograph, nice whites of people's eyes, teeth, and white shirts without blowing out the highlights.

-- Tony Rowlett (rowlett@alaska.net), June 28, 2001.

I think this works, but I think a shot with the focus on the baby might have been much more effective, almst as if it were from the baby's point of view. It's nice that the detail is retained in the shirt rather than just washing out.

-- Jeff Spirer (jeff@spirer.com), June 29, 2001.

Thanks for the kind comments folks. For comparison, here's a similar shot with the baby in focus. The negs were scanned by the photo lab and are unedited except for size and compression. This will be the last baby photo I'll post for a while so everyone can start breathing easier now. *Grin*


-- Fred Sun (redsky3@yahoo.com), July 04, 2001.