I agree with woof, on the exposure issue... I would probably have exposed for the boy, and let the sky blow, it's not 'really' adding much to the shot, or adding context or interest. But I'd back up a bit and say that's probably least of the worries. Composition, composition, composition! Composition isn't 'bad', but you'd do more to make a better shot looking at that, than you would exposure.
What in your shot is 'subject', what is 'detail, and of the 'detail' what is useful detail adding context to the subject, and what is distracting detail confusing the picture and detracting from impact?''
And WHY oh WHY haven't you turned the camera sideways to portrait mode?
What in that big space to the right, is adding interest, context or 'anything' to the picture? OK, so you have placed boy on the 1st vertical of the 3rds grid... and you have given him some breathing space, but still there's almost half a frame of just vacant 'space'.. doing nothing... and my eye is drawn to, I think its a chateau style hotel. oof, in the far back-ground, and and trying to resolve that 'ambiguity' rather than look at the lad! There's a lamp-post I think, chopping a back-ground tree a little to the left of the chateau; you could have cropped there, and cut out that incongruity and the chateau from frame, and still left him space to breath and a pleasant contextual 'scene' around him.
Looking at the setting.. I would probably.. if I was being that bit pretentious about the job.. re-composed it completely.. lads looking at and smiling for the camera, it's not a candid or action shot, so I would probably have looked to move him around so he was sitting more obviously in front or against the tree to his right (left of pic), turned the camera through 90 Deg and got down even lower and the played with positioning, to get the 'feature' tree more in frame, and find the shadows through the leaves falling on the lad, and let 'them' tell the story of a sunny day, rather than any sky, and then depending on camera->boy->tree distances, try and work some nice moody 'oofing' into the light falling through the tree, or keep it crisp and let the shadow contrast emphasize the 'sunniness'.
Fill in flash, is a cheap trick, and possibly what I would have used to brighten up the boy in the shadows and darken up the back-ground & if I kept much if any in frame, retain sky detail.... B-U-T...
Alternatively, appropriate place to use a reflector....... which would probably be more natural and neutral and 'pleasing' than 'harsh' flash...... A-N-D in similar situations I have done! Doesn't have to be a studio reflector... A white T-Shirt or light colored towel (always handy to have in the bag of you are working with kids BTW!.. along with a bottle of blowie bubbles and a bag of haribo, and some anti-septic 'magic cream' lol), can be quite effective improvisations!...... Having stripped off white T-Shirt and got some-one else to hold it as a reflector..... my Lilly white torso, , might also play a part...lol! ....Yeah.. take a towel! lol.lol. BUT, it was a bright day, plenty of natural light about, just not where you necessarily wanted it; why start chucking harsh artificial into that when you could just redirect a bit of what's already there?
B-U-T as a relatively posed and staged shot? You might as well, exploit that staging to get the 'best' effect....A-N-D... I would probably have been inclined to be a bit naughty, and actually TRY and get some leaf shadow playing on his face and arms, so 'suggest' summer sun, and sunny skies, rather than show it directly, try and emphasis the 'mood' rather than the subject..
On which topic... 'props' might add to the shot. What's the lad 'in to'? A soccer ball, at his feet, or a comic book on his lap, or 'something' to hint at his interests or character, need not be large, or dominating, or distracting from the picture, BUT would add another dimension, offering a connection to the subject, some added context and reason to the picture, telling the viewer 'more' than just what he looks like on a sunny day.
As posed, I'm drawn to the his glasses... and that offers suggestion... does he 'like' having to wear spex? With nothing else to had, I might have asked him to play with them.. take a few shots with them 'incidental', on his knee or in his hand, rather than on his face, or even doing something with them, pulling a face whilst he tries cleaning them, or 'something'... again, playing with the staging and composition, looking to draw more out of the 'scene' as a whole.
As said, as is, it's a pleasant picture, and it's not badly composed OR exposed... but its in that composition, engaging with the boy, looking to extract more of 'him', rather than playing with the camera looking for better settings, I'd expect to find that difference that takes it from a photo you glance at and smile, to a picture that holds your gave and MAKES you want to look at it, and understand it.
As said, exposure? Near enough. Little improvement might be found there; but more attention to composition & staging, could kick it into a different league.
Towel, bubbles, sweets and magic cream! Those are your key accessories, rather than flash guns and slave sells! Especially when it comes to kidz!
Storm
