Love the people in the background, they add a great deal of space to the scene.

I tried to get a similar shot of my daughter at the beach recently and didnt even come close to this......what a great capture.

Where you laying down as you took this, or did you just stick the camera down there and click away until you got it right? :)

Aleksander: yes, the people do add some depth to the shot.

mark: I've just about got the hang of holding the camera close to the ground and knowing what's going to be in the frame, though on most occasions I need to rotate the image slightly as I don't always get the horizon straight. I prefer laying down, but not in an inch of water when I'm dressed ;-)

Another cracker. I'm looking forward to the other two now.

Wish I could have gone to the beach yesterday instead of to work. :-)

When I took first look at this photo I just say, great colors... but than I notice flash reflection on the bucket... anyway nice :)

Wow! This is really great! Once again your colors are amazing, and the perspective is very good! Nice beach btw, especially for kids :)

waaaaaa this is fantastic
I don't know how much post processing is involved, but the result sure looks great

Wow, I love the concentration on her face, the people behind and the sky, but the colour and reflection of the spade is fantastic.

I like the simplicity of that, just clarity. The photo is kinda divided into three distinct parts (rule of thirds I guess!) And the colors just all match up together. Pretty daughter, with a beautiful name also.

i dont comment very often, but this is excellent, one of my favorites of yours. along with ddoi, your photoblog is a regular for me.

Amazing shot! It almost looks set-up and unreal it's so perfect.

beautiful shot. i love how everything is so crisp and her arms are blurry. well done.

Yes, but did you ask for permission first?

Thanks :-)

ps: you were right about the reflection on the bucket, I've cloned it out.

Victor: the beach at Blackpool is great. We have a ten minute walk to get there then we can walk three miles, both south and north. It's just a shame that there are only a couple of months during the year when it's warm enough to really enjoy it ;-)

pierre: Channel Mixer to boost the saturation and Curves to increase contrast.

peter: lol. Our kids like being photographed, which is just as well :-)

great picture :), i'm no pro but what I see is perfect composition and great color balance and exposure.

maybe i shouldn't ank and keep the mystery air of the photo but did you use some photoshop for the colors??

Great stuff. Such clear bright colours. You should expect a call from Blackpool Council asking to include this in a brochure - Come to Sunny Blackpool!

The angle makes all the difference!!! What a wonderful photo. As always ;)

.... Nicely controlled. Good use of fill flash.

Brilliant - I love it.

Beautiful. I like the reflections in the water and the people in the distance really do add perspective and depth to the picture. You should have got up and moved that 'little fluffy cloud' on the right though ;)

Just out of interest, how many shots did you take to get this one?

Yes, I agree David, they aren't registered to vote (by this I mean to trace) and I think there are plenty of photos to identitfy them already so why not name them. I was actually going to comment upon the impersonal nature you referred to your daughter just then but fortunately read on.

Lovely name and although I'm not generally keen on the shots of your daughters (with exception of yours (and my) favourite one) this really does summarise the excitement that is childhood.

The juxtaposition of said daughter (Rho) bucket and spade against that ever so blue sky is great. The movement of her hand is pure bonus. I hope you mount this image at home becuase it really is cheery.

Er, shame about the people for me because the angle otherwise provides a very lovely blank canvas and my eye treats the people like an irritating fly that constantly draws your attention, CS them out ;)

Awesome perspective. You've done a great job at capturing the fun of summer at the beach.

This is beautiful Dave. Your kids I bet will be so proud when they're old enough to realise the gorgeous photos you've produced of them. This is one of my favourites - the saturation, the sharpness, and the composition are just fantastic. Great work :)

Such a simply AMAZING photograph.

Hmmm... that European Photobloggers meetup is right around the same time as my birthday. I wonder if a trip to London is too extravagent of a gift to ask for? ;)

Christine: thanks, and you should definitely visit. It looks like it will be fun.

Another beautiful shot... Leave the people.

Reminds me of the old film "Honey I Blew Up the Kid" : )

Not that anyone would know what I'm talking about (I hope, at least).

Vivid, vivid colours. I love it.

I love this photograph. I don't think I've ever seen a beach that flat; it almost looks like something I would dream of. I also like it better with the people in it because it makes your daughter seem like a giant with only one care in the world - to have fun.

Now this is really a good shot. I like the colours though a bit brighter would be better. It's a bit dark.

First comment -- I've been enjoying your blog for months, however. My first thought was that the people make her seem larger than life. But when I block them out with a white card, she still seems enormous, probably because of her orientation with the horizon and the sky. I don't think they make that much of a difference one way or the other but I'm (very slightly) leaning towards keeping them in.

Most of my attempts at shooting in harsh daylight are poor. Have you controlled the shadows here just with fill flash? Are you using an ND filter or similar? Thanks.

Brilliantly executed, Dave. I like the people. Leave 'em in.

I just found your blog and was just in awe over this picture of your darling little girl and her wonderful name! I definitely think leave the people in, so much more depth perception that way. Your photos are wonderful and thank you for sharing exposure settings... I'm just learning and this is very helpful!

It reminds me of the film King Kong... the little couple seems to be play toy for Rho.

I say clone em :)

I say clone them out.

I think you should leave them . They give a good sence of space. I love how colorful is this one, and it's nice to meet Rhowan, or at least her name.

it ceases to amaze me how it's possible for you to consistently create photographs in which the subject looks as though it's being photographed in a studio. Although the lighting on your daughter is obviously natural sunlight, the perspective and the position of the horizon add to the illusion that the background is a "backdrop".

that, with the vibrant colours and the fact that she looks like a giant next to the couple in the background, makes for a very fun photograph.

Leave them in. I would say clone them out but they are in love...

Absolutely must leave them in! - it's a different picture altogether without them

Lovely image Dave. This shot has featured in Le Monde's A day in the World, where they feature several photoblogs. Well done!

http://marcm.blog.lemonde.fr/marcm/

Sorry Dave, I was a bit quick off the mark with that last post. I don't actually think that is an actual Le Monde site. Still nice to get the image out and about as it were.

Great shot Dave, the colours are spot on, i personally would clone those people out as they are a little distracting to me.

the perspective is so nice, the girl/people/clouds/tools are in perfect harmony

Paul> I visited this site and one of my pictures is featured too, coincidence... And yes, it's just a blog hosted by lemonde.fr...

djn1> thanks for the explanation regarding post-processing

how did you manage to create that motion blur on her arms at 1/200? is it photoshop magic?

great photo! I say leave the people in.

i might be available for the europe photobloggers meetup, having the whole summer to practise helps!.

a wonderful name, great shot. the people are a bit of a distraction but adds great depth to the shot so i say keep them in, maybe move them to the right?! not sure.

Dave, Love the site. This picture is an amazing portrait. I would leave the people inthe background because 1) without them the background would, dare i say, boring without them, 2) the depth that they provide is stunning, and 3) to get rid of them would be too much touch up for a photo. Colors are great and i love the fact that you decided to take the photo under developed. That really made the colors, especailly the sky, contrast well with the shadows and reflections. I love it.

Curiously, I like the picture just as much both with and without people. The people add dimension, however, the lack of them adds a touch of sophistication and more of a studio feel.

How about if you cut the people and move them over to the right a bit. Experiment with different positions. It'll both balance the shot a bit and also separate them from the subject some.

Nice shot. I guess it's not just the skill of a photograpger that has gone into this shot but the heart of a father as well.

Beautiful shot, as always. How exactly do you use the channel mixer to increase saturation? I just cannot figure out how to use it properly without giving the photograph weird hues.

At first glance, I thought you should clone out the people in the background but then I realized, they give some depth in the pic. Great work again, Dave. Btw, I noticed you used flash in this pic. It doesn't look too dark a day or was it?

one of my faves!

Another vote for taking the people out, for what it's worth. Gorgeous shot.

Awesome image, I love the small people in the background. A really nice detail.

its an amazing effect with the inactive background and the kid playing in the sand. the colors are amazing! its a wonderfully composed shot with the people in the distance showing the vacancy of the beach. wonderful!

I live nearby in Stevenage so I'll be about on Saturday for the Photobloggers event in London. I like the picture btw, especially the low perspective.

My kids are young adults and they will not sit, stand, run or tolerate portraits. So I say, break 'em in young!

Nice portrait, by the way.

I love this picture, reminds me of vacation as a kid. I've linked to you from my blog too; hope you don't mind.

:)

I do like the people in the background. But again, I like it without them as well ... either way, you have a beautiful shot here with truly youthful colours.

Wow, what snappy color and light. This is gorgeous. I say leave the couple in, it tells either more to the story or starts another one.

And I hear ya on the kids name thing. Something I wonder about too

Thanks everyone.

As for the people: I'm going to leave them in as I like the scale they add to the shot.

john: yes, I controlled the shadows with fill-flash set to underexpose by -1/3 of a stop. And no, I didn't use an ND filter.

Paul: thanks for the link.

efraim: I think she was moving her arms quite quickly, hence the blur at 1/200.

As I said before, I think they add more depth to the picture. Definitely leave them in.

Beth: here's what you do to up the saturation with the Channel Mixer:

1) when the dialog opens; i.e. the Output Channel is set to Red, you increase the Red setting by a set amount (say 20) then decrease the Green and Blue by an amount that adds up to the same as you upped the Red channel. So, if you upped the Red channel by 20 you would reduce then Green and Blue channels by 10. After you've done this you repeat the process for the other two output channels upping the Green for the Green Output Channel and the Blue for the Blue Output Channel.

Leave the people in because they actually break the monotony of the background and make the photo tell a story. Plus you get extra points for NOT manipulating the image! Excellent picture!

The image is compelling. You managed to capture a large array of complementary colours. The people in the background help give the shot depth - keep 'em!

Wow, thank you so much!!!!!

i'd say keep the figures in the background; they add to the perspective and the calm of the image.

this is a beautiful image! very chromasia;)

dave, am i crazy or did you initial EXIF data show "no flash"? I remember looking because i was impressed with the amount of light with no flash. Also, you didnt use selective coloring on the toys?

mark: no, you're no crazy. I put up the FEC value but forgot to add the flash info. From what I remember I amended it about an hour after I posted the entry. As for the toys: nope, that's the colour they are. I did increase the saturation, but I didn't change the colours.

Wow again. Your work amazes me. And obviously everyone else. Look at all these comments! Yay you!

I say take them out! :) I like it better without them. Great shot!

I love your colors.
I vote to leave the couple in, it shows a great sense of scale.