I've lost the ability to critique!

[GreigM]

I've got a newborn and all I want to do is take 1 single "classic" pic of the little bugger. However after selling the mrs on the whole "we've got a new baby coming, I need to spunk away £3K on cameras and lenses to make sure I get a good picture" I seem to be thinking every pic I've taken is not quite good enough to the point I wont make a big print. I look at the threads on here and it drives me to despair that I'll never be able to take a semi-reasonable picture, and am now looking back on previous pictures which I previously thought were reasonable, my only reaction is "rubbish".

So the question is - do photographers go through a stage where they know enough about what makes a good picture, that is disables them from stepping back and properly evaluating their own work, and are they being overly-critical?

For example, here are what I would consider my "least bad" efforts, which the wife tells me aren't completely st, but I feel somewhat let down by the effort - I can pick big holes in every shot, so looking for your opinions on what I could do better all-round (please be honest/brutal)...or am I just as well putting the kit on ebay and hiring a professional?

Edited by GreigM on Wednesday 10th November 23:19

[curtisl]

I am sure what you are going through is what pretty much every other photographer goes through I am sure. I know I most certainly have been through that stage more than once and still don't appreciate my shots like other people say that they do. Confidence/self belief is what is lacking which is something I struggle with in photography personally, I am sure it will pass in time.

I am also not the best critic either but i will have a stab. 3, 4 and 5 are the best for me. 3 is a little out of the ordinary for your typical baby shot but as a split tone the colours work well together but maybe could do with a little less saturation and toning it down a bit. It looks like the focus is on the bottle/hand in 2 rather than the baby and it seems a bit flat, could do with a bit of contrast and a bit of light fill to balance it out to make it more black and white rather than grey if you know what I mean. I hope that helps in some way.

What I will say though is that I am sure you will regret the day that you packed in the photography rather than persevering. You will never take the perfect picture, the fun is in the trying.

Edited by curtisl on Thursday 11th November 00:13

[rottie102]

I like my RECENT photography. I was just thinking that 5 people on my FB friend's list have picture I've taken as their profile picture. That made me feel good.

However I hate framed pictures on my walls, which have been taken few years ago. My skills improved, I've upgraded my kit, it's a constant process.

Out of the lot you've posted I like number 3, This is the one I would print. The others are OKish...

[AndWhyNot]

Congratulations on the expanded family.

It looks like you're shooting candid but expecting staged results. Might be worth setting aside a few short sessions for photography. Set up in natural light while the baby's asleep, then feed & wind, then shoot.

There's some great ideas on flickr for simple images that are quick to shoot. Get your ideas from there but don't rush back to compare how your shots fare. I have a folder on my desktop where I put images to process in future when I'm either detached from the emotion of the moment; or feeling all nostalgic; or have learned new techniques; or any combination of.

[LongQ]

It's very rare for a newborn to be photogenic, closeups do not overcome this and candid situations will always be likely to suffer from 'baby clutter' if you are taking any opportunity to shoot rather than trying to set something up, as previously suggested, or when the wee mite is soundly asleep.

Go for a soft look, use bounce flash, consider going for a very light exposure - anything to make you think differently.

My time of such shots was back in the days of film where, if not careful, the cost of film, developing and printing (always 10 copies I was told because there were so many people to distribute sets to ... ????????? ) was probably relatively more expensive than your equipment spend - with no assets, other then the snap shots, to show for it at the end.

Give your primary subject a few weeks to develop before you start looking for masterpieces on your memory card. For now just think of it as keeping a record and getting a little practice for later.

Edited by LongQ on Thursday 11th November 02:20

[xrrr]

GreigM said:

So the question is - do photographers go through a stage where they know enough about what makes a good picture, that is disables them from stepping back and properly evaluating their own work, and are they being overly-critical?

Oh yes! My wife thinks I create fab shots, I just think she is biased! I am probably genuinely chuffed with about 1 in 50 shots that I keep.

I tell myself it is good to be over critical as it encourages me to improve. It does tend to leave me a bit dissatisfied though!

Congrats on your new family member. Personally I like photo #1 but if I were printing I would make it B&W and darken the blue to make the baby's skin stand out more.

ETA: And clone out the blurry blob in the bottom right.

Edited by xrrr on Thursday 11th November 08:00

[itsnotarace]

First of all congrats on the new family member. My thoughts as follows:

1. Swap to plain white pillow, the blue and patterned flowers add nothing to the shot and subtract a fair amount imho. Flip blanket around so the fold is inside and you are not left with 3 steps of blanket edge up to the face, again this is distracting and unnecessary. Lastly, lighting is not well thought out as the baby's face is mostly cast in shadow. Try and use natural daylight wherever possible, if this means moving furniture and arranging a mini studio near a sunlit window then so be it.

2. Focus point is on your wife's ring on her right hand, not on the baby. Either move the focus point away from the centre or manually focus the camera on the baby. There is some lovely dappled sunlight coming into the room as it's evident on your wife's arms and the chair, why not across the baby's face? The baby looks underexposed compared to the rest of the shot. Clone out the two dots above baby head

3. Umm... it's green? Something very shiny and distracting (bottle or glass) on the table behind, remove next time

4. Wider depth of field required, imho both your wife and baby should have their eyes in focus. Same annoying shiny thing in pic. I know it's really difficult but it would have been nice to see the baby smiling in this pic. I would have set up a tripod with remote release and then try and make the baby smile whilst snapping away

5. Neutral background w00t! Well done Shame baby's face is underexposed again. You should really try and set something up near a window to capture soft morning or evening light

To summarise - concentrate on getting the backgrounds right (neutral is nearly always best), concentrate on getting the lighting right (if you can't use natural daylight use very softly diffused flash - consider one of the Gary Fong lightspheres). Try and elicit a happy or smiling response from the baby by dangling a toy in front of them or making faces, blowing raspberries on tummies etc. Remember you don't have much time while they are this little so make the most of it

HTH, good luck

[andy-xr]

GreigM said:

I feel somewhat let down by the effort - I can pick big holes in every shot, so looking for your opinions on what I could do better all-round (please be honest/brutal)...or am I just as well putting the kit on ebay and hiring a professional?

That'll be the perfectionist in you clashing with you being too close emotionally with the subject matter. There's things you can do technically to get some pleasing photos, from what you've posted intent seems to be needing a little more polish, and personal preference on your PP would be without the colour washes and up the exposure. Just nice clean shots, fairly high key (I dont mean Venture white background) will give you something to improve on

After all that though, dont miss your little'un growing up because you were too busy working out rules

[GreigM]

thanks all, gives me something to think about - yes, I think the biggest flaw is I'm "snapping" when I think I see his face in a reasonable pose and not taking the time to compose and then waiting for the expression...gives me a lot to think about which is very useful

[ofcorsa]

A lot of my friends have really young babies and i think taking great photos is harder than people think. At this age they are on their back a lot or being held which makes framing and focussing more difficult.

[Simpo Two]

itsnotarace said:

stuff

Yep. Thing is, you can see all this with your eyes before you take the shot. Look harder and assess the scene as a photo before you press the button. If it isn't right, either don't take it or change it until it is. Without altering the subject, you can quickly optimise the background by moving position and optimise the composition by careful framing.

Oh yes, and then lighting