Earlier this week I put out a call to the fans of the How to Photograph Your Baby Facebook page for favorite (or least-favorite) family photographs for me to comment on.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/How-to-Photograph-Your-Baby/94071724038?re...

I want to apologize for the delay—I've been on the road. But I'm back and I've been looking forward to putting some thoughts down all week. I was delighted, intimidated, and even inspired by some of your photographs. Amazing. Thanks so much to all of you who participated. And I really appreciate the willingness of the photographers to subject themselves to some tough love in the interest of helping other photographers. That's right. I'm all lovey-dovey now but I'm going to get serious in a minute.

I brought them over here to the HTPYB website because it just doesn't do the photographs justice to have them seen so small on Facebook and I wanted to make a more permanent display of the pictures. Of course, I'm doing this without the photographers permission—can I go to jail for this?—so if you see your photo here and you'd like me to take it down please let me know and I'll do it right away.

For years I've been hammering away at a few key points to better amateur photography—get closer, experiment with turning off your flash, find some nice light  and clean up  your backgrounds. I could not believe how many of you have followed those few simple and powerful rules. (Of course, I take all of the credit.) Seriously, I was so impressed.

Anyway, let's get to the photographs. Here's a picture Erinn took of Reeve that at first glance looks so simple, But there's a lot going on here. It's a very thoughtful photograph and it really works.Erinn has done all of those things I mentioned. She's close, there's no harsh flash and the side-light is dramatic and beautiful. But Erinn did one more thing that I think puts this photo over the top. She tilted the camera—something that gives the picture a spontaneous, real feeling.  I don't know if this picture was the result of a single grab shot or a prolonged 30 minute photo session and I don't care. This picture says something to me about the topsy-turvy world of babyhood and the photographer made me feel that way with her intelligent use of the camera. Very cool. I was really glad this picture came along because I often forget to remind people of this legitimate and useful technique. It's not to be over-done but when it works it works. Nice job, Erin.

I'm always telling people to experiment with turning off the flash (as opposed to simply turning off the flash) because sometimes you just need to relax, use your flash, and shoot a beautiful snapshot of someone you love and not worry about photographic technique. I think a good approach to family photography is to occasionally get all technically compulsive and other times kick back and let the camera do the work. Here's a picture that Marilee took with a flash and I don't care. It warms my heart. Thanks for this picture, Marilee.Sometimes you just have to say to yourself that "Nick Kelsh is a big dope and I love my family and I don't care what anybody says, I love this picture!" That really all that matters, right?

Jamie commented that she always seems to background problems and sent a photograph to prove it.I noticed that Erinn and Marilee both used the floor behind the baby as a simple, neutral background and I think that's a good way to go in those crazy mine-fields where children live and play. I salute you, Jamie, for keeping the flash off, though. I'd love to see some of your future" "simple background" photos. One thing that would also help is to put more light on the baby than the background. The baby's face is facing away from the light source in the background. It's difficult for me to judge this situation based on one photograph but getting more light on the baby's face might be a good place to start.

Sharon shot a photo of her two daughters that has a wonderful feeling to it. That piece of hair blowing in the wind really makes it.I think the picture could be made even stronger, however, if the background were darker and more out of focus. If Sharon could have a found a spot where the background were in a shadow that would have helped. Making the background blurred requires of a bit of techno-geek photo knowledge. A large f-stop (big opening, small number) would have made the background go a bit more out of focus. It would also help to zoom the lens out as far as it goes and then compose by moving the camera closer or farther from the subject—that is, walking. That accentuates what professional photographers call "shallow depth of field"—that means just the subject is in focus for a more dramatic effect. I've done a quickie computer-magic version of this photo just to show you what I'm talking about. This can be done in Creative Memories Memory Manager or Photoshop. It's best to do it while you're taking the picture, however. Here's what I'm talking about. This would just give an already wonderful photo a little polish, but it is polish that takes good photos to the next level.

A couple of fans sent in photos that were  helped by extremely tight crops. Irene sent a picture of her granddaughter, Ardyn.

and Heather sent a shot a color of a wonderfully moody little chubby-cheeks.

Both of them wisely ignored the advice that used to be on the Kodak instruction sheet that came with a roll of film. It actually said it's a mistake to cut the top off of somebody's head in a photo. If it's done creatively it can make an otherwise average photo sing. (I'm not saying these two are average, believe me.) Look at how the crop make a beautiful balck and white composition of Ardynn. And that piece of green grass contrasting again the warm skin tones and red shirt in Heather's color shot separates the subject from the background beautifully—something you should always try to be doing. You want your photos to draw the viewer in. The idea is to eliminate any barriers.

Here are a couple of good photos that don't need much improving but that didn't stop me from trying. Jillian sent this portrait in and I just started playing with a crop. That' s a bad thing to do with all of your photos. Ask yourself if it can be improved with a crop. Can you eliminate anything that isn't helping? Here's a before and after. You be the judge.The baby is so beautiful I just wanted to get closer. Look at those fat little arms! They're just great!

Melodie posted a dramatic portrait of two children that I finally concluded could use a little crop and a conversion to black and white. Here's a before and after:I'm such a sucker for black and white that I'm always asking myself if the color in a photograph is really doing any good or is it just a distraction? Black and white photos feel so timeless and take on a mood that color photos can't touch. And I got rid of the bright, distracting blanket in the background.There's a haunting beauty to this black and white version of Melodie's sweet portrait.

Here's a photo that wouldn't be the same in color. I really like this photo. Yes, Ruth, a thirteen-year-old boy sleeping on his dad's lap is worthy of a photo and black and white just takes it to another place. Nice call.

I gave Cynthia a hard time last week about photographing her black dog in front of a black background.

I asked her for a reshoot and she sent this delightful image of a dog lost in Dogland. Nice work, Cynthia.

Donna and Lindsey both sent pictures of babies in front of cloth backgrounds.Donna's future all-star is pitching a no-hitter in the Dreamland World Series. Normally I would say a completely black background without a hint of detail is a little too much like outer space. In this case, however, it adds to the dreamy quality of a very cute idea.

Lindsey's photo of a baby in a bowl demonstrates what I mean.Subjects need a feeling of place, even if it's a piece of cloth. There are exceptions and Donna's picture of the ball player makes that point.

Marlene complained that this birthday party portrait has background problems. I disagree. The background is neutral and yet there is that feeling of place I was talking about. Even something as seemingly insignificant as that piece of ribbon adds something.

And Sharlene poetically reminded us that people don't have to look in the camera for beautiful portraits.

I just love this picture of Annalisa's baby screaming. I've been saying for years that a picture of a miserable baby crying is a great photograph. Annalisa has made my point for me. Don't you just love the way the Teddy bear couldn't care less? And the color is so important here. That kid is getting ready to explode! It's a beautiful thing. This picture really made me laugh.

But then I asked myself if that bear on the left was adding anything. Maybe he (she?) needed to go. If what I liked about this photo was the relationship between the unhappy baby and the bear that doesn't care then I should accentuate that with a crop. Here it is:

Susan sent one of my favorites. It's a beautiful, moody black and white portrait—gorgeous light.Susan mentioned that she loved the fact that she was able to make the eyes green in Memory Manager. That's just a matter of personal preference. With all due respect, I find the green eyes a bit distracting and don't add that much. That's just me. Don't get me wrong. I wish I had taken this picture.

Leah shot my favorite photo of the week. A simple, elegant, black and white classic profile portrait against a background that adds but doesn't distract. And it has a great mood. I can't think of a thing that would improve this photograph. That little piece of hair on the cheek is priceless. This picture is a family treasure.

Oh, wait! I just thought of a minor improvement! A little

black border around pictures with white skies can help contain the photograph so they don't  just bleed into the page. (I didn't want Leah to get the big head—I had to think of something!) So here you go:

There. That's a little better.

If you didn't see your picture here it wasn't because I didn't like it—I just couldn't think of anything to say about it that I thought most people would benefit from.

Thanks so much for all of your cooperation. Your pictures (and families) are beautiful.