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Beautiful light, mood and tone with a strong composition. Struggling to find anything constructive to add in way of change.
Ironically the only person being derogative and demeaning here is the person who chose to use the pejorative phrase ’fat old lady’ to describe your subject. I don’t see any intent on your part to exploit this lady and seems to me you have captured a genuine moment of warmth between her and her two dogs. Incidentally I believe the quote is by Elliott Erwitt.
A poignant moment captured and the details to right of frame help tell your story and provide context and nice use of shallow DOF here. I wish the clipped highlights of the hat weren’t quite so prominent. Unfortunately the person in the background kills the shot for me. The overlap means that he is just too much of a distraction. Great subject, just need to start with the background and work forward in this instance.
Apologies as I am likely missing your intent here but my immediate reaction is that this is a poorly focussed and composed shot of a child. I don’t think the partially cropped elements bottom edge of frame are helping with the composition either. Feels a little creepy to be honest and I assume not the aesthetic you were aiming for.
I agree, the background is quite busy and the vignette rather strong. Bigger distraction for me are the clipped highlights on the woman’s blouse and shoulder of the mannequin right of frame which immediately draw the eye and become a distraction. I suspect those details will have been lost and are unrecoverable. I don’t think the uneven and contrasty light across the woman’s face is doing you any favours here either.
Unfortunately the image lacks a sense of emotion or connectedness to me. I think it’s largely due to the fact that you chose to shoot this man side on and his gaze leads me directly out of frame. So much is conveyed by the eyes yet we see only one side of his face. As a result the image feels quite static and lacking in character and I don’t get a sense of ‘who’ this person is.
His face seems a little too lost in the shadows and my attention is immediately drawn by the brighter highlights of his jacket. I might have been tempted to clone out the white highlights on the wall immediately to the right of his nose as these also become a distraction.
I can’t help but think this would have been a much stronger shot taken head on so we could see both sides of his face.
I would like to know why the genre of this photograph is important to you. For what its worth I don’t see a problem labelling this ‘landscape’ but assigning your image to a particular genre isn’t going to change either its content or your personal response.
Why shoot on the basis that there may be someone out there who likes the image more than you do? I think you have to shoot for yourself. If you don’t love or connect with a scene and have a clear personal vision of what it is you want to portray then I think that is going to be reflected in your output. An ‘old barn on a hill’ remains just that and nothing more.
In terms of improvements it does seem under exposed and lacking in contrast and tonal range but nothing that a tweek with curves adjustment couldn’t resolve. But, if you are not personally taken with this shot, if you are not sure if it’s worth keeping and just see it as ‘an old barn on the hill’ why bother? I would suggest it’s better to use the time to get out with your camera and shoot something that excites you.
I much prefer the simplicity of your colour version. Beautiful light and shadow and I like the monochrome of brown and the mood this creates. The traffic lights don’t bother me too much as they give a sense of place and work well enough with the shadows given they are edge of frame and also black. I wish that grey lamp post wasn’t there though as it disrupts the colour palette and interrupts the flow of the abstract window patterns.
I like both your images and they seem strong enough to have the potential to sell to me.
This is by no means a reflection on your work but rather the bitter and twisted ramblings of someone who has spent many hours behind a stall at numerous craft fairs supporting my wife selling her textile art. Most fairs have a smattering of photographers selling their wares and it never ceases to amaze me how undiscerning the public are with respect to buying photographs that fail to meet even the most basic of technical standards & competence. My favourites include landscapes with clipped highlights to the point of there being no sky and home printed images with a strong colour cast. It seems to me that, in general, buyers are not overly concerned about the issues we obsess about as photographers (sharpness, clarity, noise etc.). As Steve has highlighted, people tend to buy on emotional impulse when a particular image resonates with them, a favourite place, memories of a holiday destination etc and technical considerations are very much secondary.
You seem to have some quality images. Have confidence in your work. Don’t undersell yourself but at the same time be prepared for the possibility of the cheap crap touted by others selling better than you.
It does pay to engage your audience. People like to meet the artist and even just a few words can be enough to get people to stop and engage with your work rather than simply pass-by your stall. Top tip – take a chair! They are not always provided and a day spent on your feet is incredibly tiring!
I hope it goes well for you.
It’s exactly as you describe it to me – a ‘make do’ shot of a sunset, nothing more, nothing less. I feel there is little I can add that you don’t already know yourself as reflected in your title and description.
I’m with Billyspad on this one I’m afraid.
Personally, I don’t see a clear focal point / point of interest and the composition feels somewhat chaotic. The profile appears to have brightened all the leaves to the point of clipping and losing all detail and hence my eye is pulled all over the frame by the competing highlights. The result being, the circular branch becomes an insignificant part of your image and lost in the frame.
… and sometimes the meaning of a photograph is so obscure that it forever remains locked away in the mind of the photographer. Nothing wrong with that as long as we do not post in a public forum and are arrogant enough to expect our audience to be mind readers.
Forgive me for falling into the obvious trap of providing you with a ‘photographers eye’ based critique in response to your post but delighted to have been able to confirm your predictions. For future reference you may want to consider posting something along the lines of the Rorschach ink blot as this tends to be a more reliable and efficient way of analysing the reactions of your audience. The added bonus being we would then know what we are responding to.
Now I really do need that holiday.
Sorry but feels more like an image stolen rather than a minute as this one feels devoid of any interest to me. The bulls eye placement of your subject in the vast expanse of negative space and a catchy title is not enough to draw and hold my attention I’m afraid.
Winogrand reminds us that photographers often mistake the emotion they feel while taking a photograph as a judgement that the photograph is good. Maybe you were caught up in the joy of the holiday and this scene now brings back a host of happy memories for you (nothing wrong with that). Unfortunately, as a dispassionate observer, apart from seething resentment about not having been abroad for a holiday this year, I don’t make any connection with this shot and little to hold my eye and want to linger.
There are a few things I like in the composition, particularly the echo and repeat of curves but I don’t think they are enough in and of themselves to carry the image. Unfortunately the man appears incidental to me and disrupts the flow. The bright colour of his hat jars the eye (maybe that was your intent) and I don’t see any obvious connection or story here.
Feels to me that you recorded a ‘happenstance’ here rather than a meaningful moment / connection between scooter & dog. Dog runs towards passing motor scooter doesn’t feel unique or compelling enough, particularly as the key elements are indistinct & occupy a relatively small amount of the frame which further increases my disconnect. I don’t see a story or get a sense of character that makes me want to linger and explore the photo further.
Good street /candid photography has to be more than simply documenting a moment in time. What was it that you wanted to convey? Why this fraction of a second rather than any other? What was your vision / what was it you were trying to communicate? What elements did you need in the frame to achieve this? Every inch of your composition is critical – why include a relatively large expanse of foreground & negative space?
I like your b&w edit although I would be inclined to reduce the clipping / burnt highlights around the barbers elbow and upper arm.
To be honest Kent I am not seeing the candid or defining moment that would elevate this photograph from a fairly straight forward documentation / record shot. ‘Barber trims sideburns of man with wistful gaze’ isn’t quite compelling or distinctive enough in my view. Aside from the obvious act of cutting his hair I wonder why this particular moment? What was it that you wanted to convey?
In terms or the composition I think the lowered viewpoint and wide angle view have created a distorted perspective and also given undue prominence to the boots in the foreground which seem to me not to be a critical part of the story.
Rather than add to the story the mirror reflection of the barber frame right becomes an additional distraction, particularly as he appears to be using his phone rather than engaging in activity that would add to your narrative.
A closer crop may help to simplify this shot but the image is still going to lack a compelling ‘moment’ in my view.
Nice tones and I like the idea of the juxtaposition and framing. As suggested above, it needs a tighter crop in my view. All the action is mid and right of frame and it feels to me that there is too much negative space frame left.
I agree with Falxy (I think!). It’s a potentially interesting subject but I’m not seeing a particularly interesting or striking image and I’m afraid the mere presence of the girl touching the statue is not enough to bring it ‘alive’ in any meaningful way for me, indeed you could argue that she is incidental, a distraction, as I don’t see a meaningful relationship between the two. I don’t think the significant overlap between the girl and the feet help here either.
The composition feels rather cluttered to my eye, the angle has created some awkward distortions referred to above and then there is the distraction of the people top right. Overall I think it needs to be simplified and requires more of a moment / story / connection / emotion. I don’t get the sense you are showing me anything unique here and my interest wains as a result.
Interesting choice to submit for critique as it is a faithful record / documentation of the bike, the shot that most people would have taken, but appears to show little in the way of creative interpretation. Maybe that was your intent in which case any deeper critique is probably unwarranted.
In terms of composition I wonder why you chose to include the man in the background who appears to add nothing to the story and becomes a distraction.
Overall the bike elicits some mild amusement but in the absence of a wider context / story / unique interpretation I’m afraid my interest is short-lived.
Bearing in mind the obvious aesthetic and technical deficiencies and taking into account the commentary accompanying this image I can only assume it was posted with the intent of being deliberately controversial with seems to run contrary to the general spirit of the group.
