I've been lurking on here and decided to post my first image. My daughter Bri models. I took this before she changed at the end of the day. I have a lot of girlie, pretty photos. I wanted something that captured the real Bri. She's 5yrs old but has the wisdom and spirit of an "old soul". I'm not great with photoshop but have learned how to do layers etc. I'd appreciate all the reviews I can get. I hope this is sized correctly.

Hi Liz and welcome,

What a lovely young lady - marvelous eyes!

I do not know much about portraits so can only offer comments and opinions: she seems somewhat lost in the frame, and that might be due in part to the image size, but I think probably tighter would be better. Perhaps to the extent of cropping all but her full face.

Also, since she has a camera presence, perhaps a more informal setting would produce the 'look' you seek - I don't know, just a thought. Personally, I'd like to see how a 3/4s profile would work.

Again welcome, lovely daughter and I'm sure a proud mom, hope you will share more images with us.

Bob

Cute. I like the even and soft light. Welcome to the forum.

Thank you both. Bob, I'll try your suggestions next time I shoot.

Very nice subject and expression and exposure. Excellent picture as is.

The rule of thumbs for portrait is get the eyes and keep them at 1/3 and off centre is better but I have been fiddling with the image and I am not sure following the rules improves. See below:

The white at the bottom was distracting. I am not sure if better or not.

It is very nice as is.

Scott

Liz,

here are other processing versions of this image that I like:
(she has powerful eyes)

#1. Infrared and high key
#2. Warm
#3. Cross processed

Many years ago I made photographic portraits for a living, mostly of children and families. Many parents wanted the standard "big smile" images. Personally, I always felt if a child was mine, I'd want photos that captured his or her personality, attitudes and style. That can be very difficult to do, but very rewarding. There are things you could have done with lighting and exposure and things you could do with post-processing to technically improve the image. But at a guess, you captured her attitude and spirit, and that makes it a very strong image and one you can keep and cherish.

As you learn Photoshop you can tweak copies of your images. You can make strong images even better. However, it's best to strong with very good images and you are off to a good start.

Scott - Thanks for the reedit. This gives me ideas of what to do next time.

Kaden K- I appreciate all your re-edits. I have a lot to learn!

AuntiPode - Thank you for your advice. I'll keep working at it. I'm determined to do much better.

Liz -- before I had read all that was posted, I decided to try something that you could consider. The final crop is much like Scott did but with an adjustment in that I rotated the head to a slight angle and then with the crop grid placed the Bri's right eye at the intersecting point. After that some vignette and burning of the lower white are keeps the eye on those magnetic eyes. The eyes become more dramatic with the diagonal motion of the head. bodies and heads square to the camera are not as dynamic. The expression and the eyes make this photo and the capture is wonderful. try out the cropping and see what you like.