my first ever pics with camera

im a total beginer. as you can see all took with my sony 290. nothing been ediited. any comments welcome x

Ok Hayley, here goes.

I assume you had your camera set on an automatic setting. The exposure is good with good skin tones, as is the focussing.

While I appreciate the fact that these are snapshots of your son??? I don't think you are giving the little chap full credit.

Had you posted a larger image, the viewer would be better able to appreciate what a photogenic model he is.

I think I can see some shadow from the flash in one of the shots. Consider sitting your subject in a direct light from a window and take the shot without flash. Flash will always 'flatten' an image, which is not good for capturing the contours of the face.

It is always a good idea to hang a sheet behind the subject to avoid distracting backgrounds. Never be afraid to ask for assistance from other people, if they are available.

A couple of tips if I may. When taking a portrait always, always focus on the eyes. To get your subject looking directly into the camera, tell the little chap there is a pixie who pops his head up in the lens when the camera goes click. You will then get a good interaction between the subject and the camera.

All in all a good start - so well done.

Congrats on the new camera Hayley - what is it? (Always a good idea to add to your profile and then you can click on it easily when adding tags to a thread).

The photos are a little small to comment on tbh, tho Fogey has given you some good tips.

I would also recommend our Photography Basics guides, which you can find in the right hand column of the forum homepage. They cover some really important aspects and are a must read for any beginner

Hope that helps!

HI, thanks, its a sony a290 and yeh was on auto

how do i make my pics bigger? there from flickr xx

what eles would need to be done to improve this picture besides cropping.. thanks

Hope you don't mind Hayley, but I had a play post processing.

I used the Red Eye tool to remove the flash reflection in the eye, cloned out the shadow of the flash on the Xmas tree and baby seat?.

I darkened and increased the vibrance of the image to try to reduce the flattening of the flash and finally used the Spot Healing brush to edit the complexion of the subject.

thank you, looks so much better. what editing site are you on? xxx

I use Adobe Photoshop, Hayley.

Nice photos you got there