Hi Everyone,
Even though this isn’t a new shot I wanted to post a couple of my kids. This was actually one of the very first photo’s that I took with the Canon 5D MArk 11. I was sooooo excited that I had taken it out of the box, so I decided to check out some of my lenses and then had a play and got this gorgeous photo of my daughter. This is still one of my most favourite shots of her that I’ve ever taken. I don’t know what it is about it that I like so much but I just do.
Andrea Green Photography 
Peaceful…great photo.
Comment by Russell Ord - Photography — July 22, 2011 @ 11:04 am
Thanks Russell.
Comment by andreagreenphotography — July 22, 2011 @ 11:20 am
I don’t know what it is about it that I like so much but I just do.
I often photograph kids that know me very well and that relationship gives photos a different quality, which I also see here. Here I see trust and openness, a lack of defences.
Having the camera at her eye level is an essential part of the photo’s success; we’re in her world. The direct gaze gives us, the viewers, a point of emotional contact with the photo and nothing in the photo pulls our eyes away from that focal point. Her eyes are close to an intersection on the golden sections grid.
The languid flow of her hair reinforces the relaxed mood of the photo, as does the overall warm tone (think “fireside”). I like the way that her hair does not have every strand in place, because it gives the photo a natural feel.
The lighting is soft and the photo is sharp without being oversharpened (many photos are ruined by excessive sharpening. A touch of softness is great for kids and ladies).
The background colour complements her skin tones. There’s a nice balance between the visual weight of the negative space (the sofa) and that of her body.
Her head and arm form a visually pleasing triangle. The line down her face and arm is a diagonal (approximately 10 o’clock to 4 o’clock), while the line across her eyes is another diagonal. These two diagonals intersect and are very strong together. They also give the photo a very subtle sense of life and movement, saving it from feeling static. We read a photo top to bottom and left to right, so our eye starts at the top left corner, travels along the 10-4 diagonal and stops at her eyes. This diagonal is part of the photo’s structure and our eye naturally travels along it, so the photo’s structure is congruent with the way our minds work (if you want a more obvious example of the dynamism of diagonals and eye flow along them see this shot).
It’s a very simple photo, and that makes it stronger. There’s nothing unnecessary in the frame: there’s a focal point (her eyes), the parts of her body that contribute to mood (her hair) and composition (arm), and some negative space that she is interacting with.
It’s a superb photo, one that I could look at for a very long time.
Comment by Jachin | MandenoMoments.com — April 17, 2012 @ 3:34 am
Wow thank you very much, I really appreciate you fantastic comments.
Comment by andreagreenphotography — April 17, 2012 @ 9:39 am
Gorgeous photos!! Definitely you are talented with a camera. Where are you located? (country, state or province, city?) I’d love to add your FB page to my 4ever Photos FB page but it would help to know where you are located. Thanks for liking my post and my blog.
Comment by Sharon - 4ever Photos — April 20, 2012 @ 11:37 pm
Thanks very much.
I am from Perth WA Australia, hope that helps.
Comment by andreagreenphotography — April 21, 2012 @ 6:46 am