This shot is pretty unique and I love the wide crop, but to me something doesn't really look right. When I compare the thumbnail to the lager one I think the thumb makes it look a bit better. I think its is probably because you can't tell how much it is out of focus.

Was it shot out of focus or was that done afterwards?

I don't have a problem with soft images but I do think this one takes it a bit too far. It only needs to be a tiny bit sharper to work, I reckon. So if the blurring was added in PP then rest easy, knowing you can always change it if you like.

i'm with your wife on this one. the soft focus throughout the whole image leaves me pretty emotionless.

a point of focus - the eyes? would have given the image more emphasis - as it is, its just a bit too wishy washy for me.

sorry if i only comment on the shots I have an issue with - take it as a compliment that i like the vast majority.... :-)

ben

Looks kind of like the result you'd get with the Lensbaby. I like the photo as it is. The point of focus on the forehead/hairline is unusual, but it works for me.

This shot is pure magic.

It's easy to take perfectly sharp pictures everytime, but to learn to effectively utilize shallow depth of field is an art that can take some time to master.

VERY well done.

I've thought about it some more and I think the reason it doesn't quite work for me is the mood. If it was a picture of someone staring out a window (cliched but the best I can think of right now) then I think the softness would be easier to accept. But because she looks a bit stroppy (no offence intended) something doesn't seem quite right.

Unless you're intentionally juxtaposing the subject's mood with a processing technique usually reserved for displaying warmer moods. But if that's the case I don't really see the point, apart from experimentation and challenging 'the norm', which I'm all for, incidentally.

Jamey: no, the blur is in the original so I can't remove it.

ben: yes and no. I'm not sure I can explain this, but if the point of focus had been her eyes then the shot wouldn't work for me, at least not in the same way.

Jamey: yep, good point. I guess that I was hoping it would be seen more as conveying introspection and/or sadness than stroppiness, but in reality it was probably more the latter.

Looks like concentration more than anything to me. I like the blurring and the blue / purple hues. Thumbs up.

I see what you're saying. I think processing can help to convey a mood in a photograph but the shot itself plays a big part. And where it's a shot of a person who's obviously in a certain mood (be it happy, sad, thoughtful, whatever) then you've got quite a job on your hands to change the mood via the post-processing.

It can be done In fact I'm sure if I wasn't so lazy I could probably find examples here on Chromasia where you've done just that - flipped the meaning with clever processing - but it's still quite a task.

Jamey: I don't think I was trying to change the meaning of the shot but I guess this goes back to your first point; i.e. the extent to which processing techniques are tied to particular moods/emotions. Or, more accurately, the extent to which they evoke those moods and emotions.

Lucky I like shots of this girl or I'd say it's out of focus!

My first reaction was just like your wife's. At first I thought my browser was stuck and didn't load the pic all the way... I like the colors, but he out-of-focus gives me a headache.

Yeah. It's a shame but some techniques are almost unable to shake off the cliched images they're historically associated with. I love it when cliches get broken but it's such a hard thing to do.

With regard to this particular shot, I hope you didn't take offence at my assumption that you were trying to change the meaning. I'm just going on my first impressions. I have a habit of constructing way too much back-story in my head. It's a character flaw. Apologies.

Awe! I think it's adorable. It has a sleepy fantasy-like atmosphere.

"I hope you didn’t take offence at my assumption that you were trying to change the meaning."

No, not in the least. One of the interesting things about photographs, well, all art I guess, is that there are multiple ways to read a given image. As such it's always interesting to hear how people interpret my work – what stories they think it tells, and so on.

Cool.

Right, I'm off to bed. Night all.

The soft focus is nice, I think I like the crop more than anything.

Love the crop, not feeling the out-of-focus thing.

She's a gorgeous one, though, and those eyelashes get me everytime.

I love this photo. I think the amount of focus, the depth and angle make her look like a cherub... albeit a melancholy one.

The crop is great & the colours wonderful, but the lack of focus undermines it IMO. Even if there were something in focus, I suspect that I'd like it more. Nice shot, but it doesn't quite work for me. Nearly, but not quite.

At first, the fact that there's so much out of focus surprised me a little. It is definately within your style, but the fact that you have taken it further this time put me off a little. Having read the comments so far, and looked at the shot more I have adjusted to it, and every time I look at it I like it a lot more.

I am certain that I like the colours and the crop.

The friz of the focus gives this photo an innocent, pure and breezy feeling: It suits Harmony, since she's still an adorable toddler.

My first reaction was"Beautiful". Still is. I love super shallow and I love this picture. Great job as usual.

I could see this working well as part of a series of dream shots, but I'm not sure it stands on its own like this.

An interesting shot to make me think, at any rate, I sort of can't decide if I like it.

This image works well. It borders on a cliche, but maganges to avoid it by your use of color and pose. I like it!

i like it. could be better, but i like it.

I love the crop. I LOVE the color.

I find the dof very interesting. I like the single curl of hair that's sharp and takes you're eye right into her eyes. I think it's very 'dreamy.' Very pleasant image.

When I look at it for a few moments, it looks like an image of a porcelain doll. I like.

oh... I forgot... I ALWAYS get comments from my wife like... "but it's out of focus." ;-) If nothing else... I can relate. ;-)

Beautiful colors, “but it’s out of focus” ;-)

My first reaction was that it looks great! I love the shallow depth of field and dreamy look. Great work.

I quite enjoy the shallow focus, as well as the crop.

David,
Love the photo as always.

I'm having a problem with your site: your CSS formatting isn't coming across. Perhaps the files are down?

David-
I think that this should would have potential if it were't for the wisps of hair at the top of the frame being in focus. Because these hairs are in focus, the eye is naturally drawn to them (they serve as a *focal point*). Blurring them as well would have probably done the trick.

Ideally, the eyes would be in focus.

I think it would have been easier if you took the shot cleanly focused, then applied a softblur in photoshop.

But it's out of focus!

There's diffused, there's soft, and there's out of focus. Maybe it's not out of focus enough. It's out of focus.

I think it's ok... I can't look at it too long or my eyes will cross, but the focus makes her look like a porcelain doll rather than a real child, and there's some magic in that.

Still, my eyes prefer something to focus on.

It is indeed out of focus but I still like it because it has a dreamy, carnivalish look to it, may be becuase of the strong colours in the background and her dress.

I think I actually like it more because the hair wisps are more or less in focus.

And I agree with Viking about the porcelain doll look. Thought about that earlier but the word wouldn't come to mind.

...looks like a doll. great work

I like the photo but I think it has too much of a 'dreamy' feel... like it's overly out of focus.

She's always beautiful! Her mouth is simply perfect in this shot. The pic is out of focus, but maybe is the reason I like it.

Yes, it's out of focus and that is what makes this photo unique. Why should every photo beeing focused? Why not let the viewer wonder about what he is seeing? I could see this photo elsewhere and I would immediatly know that this is your work and that it's Harmony in the picture. Her emotions are there.

I've had many discussions with other photographers that say that a good shot is the one that is totaly in focus but I always disagree.

My first reaction also was 'what a beautiful photo'.

Maybe it has to do with the fact that I wear glasses. When I open my eyes in the morning, this is how I see the world. So to me this is not uncomfortable or strange. It looks familiar and my 'brain' doesn't question it. My normal view until I get my glasses.
It's a very dreamy photo with great colours. Absolutely love it!

i don't think her forehead was the best place to use as a focal point - there isn't enough definition or depth to give the perception of intention as opposed to straight up blurry. the hair.. that seems to bug me for some reason - might be down to the somewhat painted/vectored/vexeled look of it.

um. to retain some sharpness, you could always try the dooce effect, which leaves you with a less extreme version of the same thing.

from the top of my head - you duplicate the image, set the top layer to either overlay or multiply (not sure which) and then apply a gaussian blur to the top layer in respect to the image size. i tend to use between 1-5 pixels, but its all down to the original size.

ok :| thats me done with you dave.

nuno: depends on the end medium and/or the moderation in which it is used. i doub't you'd appriciate press photography (LIFE/world press photo) if the images were blurry.

I liked the comp, but I'm with your wife. My first thought was, its out of focus. After that, I ended up liking, but my eye kept looking for a focal point. I think it has something something to do with it being almost in focus... the blur isn't large enough to give the impression of intentional blurring, and it looks like it was shot incorrectly. Least, that's my guess... ;)

Hm... I took one shot of my (then) four-month-old at f/1.4 on a 35mm, the focal point was our hands, which protruded just before his face and body. At 1.4, everyone's reaction was the same "but... he is out of focus". I liked that shot, just as much as I like this one. I respectfully disagree with those who say the focal point should have been the eyes, in my opinion, that would have made it more predictable. I tend to see the blur as part of the magic of shots with shallow depth of field. The only part where I would have an issue with is probably the cropping of her forehead. I think showing more of her hair would have given this shot more of a sharp focal point, but overall, this is a picture I like.

Thanks everyone.

but it's out of focus. hehe. Thank's for another day dave.

Like the photo But.......it is too out of focus for me.

I like the subject...
I like the colours...
I like the composition.

I just want the darn thing in focus.

RustyJ

I usually agree with your wife, but this time it really worked for me. The title made me concentrate on the expression not in the focus. She's so lovely, now I want to know the story about the unfare situation ;). Were the shadows you were talking about just over her mouth?

Adriana: no, they were under her mouth, especially on the left side of her face.

It is beautiful...and it is not totally out of focus, her hair and forehead are in focus..
it is like an angel.

Love the phot, and my wife thinks its great to.

I wish I someday will get a photo like this of my daughter.

Great work.

I think its a wonderful dreamy shot... the sort of look you see through emotional eyes when looking at the ones you love so much it hurts your heart.

Cracking!

Ｉlove your photos, especially the kids ones.

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Best,

She is so cute like my sister. When i saw her i can't belive my eyes because she likes my sister as a twin.

Best regards