On Location Shoot - First Attempt - C&C Welcome

[fotugraphy]

Hi, going forward on my photography venture I stopped and clicked another shot. Can you please review it and let me know what exactly is missing for it to make it much better?

In this image, I have used 24 inch softbox with yongnuo flash (full manual flash) at 5.30 pm in the evening. i.e 1 hour before sunset and it was clicked it in shades.

In the Post Processing I did wb correction, color correction, Little contrast adjustments.

Please provide your views and suggestion with composition and processing. I felt that i should crop it a little from the top but was not able to decide. I'm attaching both the versions.

Thank You

PS : Please click on the image for lightbox screen view (Highly recommended).



Cropped Version :

[Manfred M]

Nicely done Raj. The shot works and you have lit your subject quite nicely.

You might want to consider an even tighter crop; it really depends on what you are trying to convey in your image. Is the image about your model and the environment his is in, or is it more about the model, or the model's head, etc.

I might be a bit more aggressive an get rid of some of the background and even part of your model.

[fotugraphy]

Nicely done Raj. The shot works and you have lit your subject quite nicely.

You might want to consider an even tighter crop; it really depends on what you are trying to convey in your image. Is the image about your model and the environment his is in, or is it more about the model, or the model's head, etc.

I might be a bit more aggressive an get rid of some of the background and even part of your model.

Thanks a lot for ur kind review and suggestion. I really like the crop u suggested. It is about the model and environment he is in. Basically I like pattern of the stairs and I framed him diagonally to give some dynamics in the image. Please share ur views...

[Manfred M]

Raj - when I first started photographing people, I was very cautious and included all of their bodies.

As I started studying the works of others, especially the "masters", I noticed that they would not include the whole body, but rather just the parts critical to the image. This is true, especially in environmental portraits where the setting and the "props" can be just as important as the face and figure.

This image in particular, is what drove me to re-examine the way I shoot people / portraits.

http://www.karsh.org/#/the_work/portraits/pablo_casals

A very famous musician, shot by the person many consider to be the best portrait photographer of all time (I certainly do). Look at how this image is handled. If you or I posted this image here on CiC, the critics would go wild!

[bnnrcn]

Hi Raj , I like both yours and Manfred's versions of the image The texture on the stairs adds to the image .

[rpcrowe]

Nicely done... However,when a male tilts his head over to the side (especially to the side of the near and lowered shoulder like this); it tends to give a feminine appearance. especially combined with the eyes looking over to the side.

I tend to prefer a man's head tilted toward the higher and far shoulder with his eyes pointed along the line of his nose.

[Shadowman]

Nicely done, although the subject is tightly cropped within the frame (the foot so close to the edge) your second crop works much better than the first, partially because it eliminated the curved brickwork and it also placed the model's head at a more agreeable angle.

[fotugraphy]

Raj - when I first started photographing people, I was very cautious and included all of their bodies.

As I started studying the works of others, especially the "masters", I noticed that they would not include the whole body, but rather just the parts critical to the image. This is true, especially in environmental portraits where the setting and the "props" can be just as important as the face and figure.

This image in particular, is what drove me to re-examine the way I shoot people / portraits.

http://www.karsh.org/#/the_work/portraits/pablo_casals

A very famous musician, shot by the person many consider to be the best portrait photographer of all time (I certainly do). Look at how this image is handled. If you or I posted this image here on CiC, the critics would go wild!

Wow! thanks a ton for sharing such wonderful knowledge. It is true that i'm very much new to portraits and this was my very first photoshoot. Yet to study more about the poses and study the work of the masters. So, what is your opinion on this considering environmental shot? Cropped version by you or the full version.

and For such shot what should be the best? Environmental or more about the model as i really like your crop too, giving a new dimension to the model.

[fotugraphy]

Hi Raj , I like both yours and Manfred's versions of the image The texture on the stairs adds to the image .

Thanks a lot for your valuable review and suggestion. I was looking for pattern with textures... thats why chose this

[fotugraphy]

Nicely done... However,when a male tilts his head over to the side (especially to the side of the near and lowered shoulder like this); it tends to give a feminine appearance. especially combined with the eyes looking over to the side.

I tend to prefer a man's head tilted toward the higher and far shoulder with his eyes pointed along the line of his nose.

Thanks a lot for your valuable review and suggestion. I must admit it is my very first portrait photoshoot, i will surely study and work more on the poses for my next photoshoot.

[fotugraphy]

Nicely done, although the subject is tightly cropped within the frame (the foot so close to the edge) your second crop works much better than the first, partially because it eliminated the curved brickwork and it also placed the model's head at a more agreeable angle.

Thanks a lot for your kind review and suggestion. I was thinking the same for the 2nd shot about the curve

[Manfred M]

Wow! thanks a ton for sharing such wonderful knowledge. It is true that i'm very much new to portraits and this was my very first photoshoot. Yet to study more about the poses and study the work of the masters. So, what is your opinion on this considering environmental shot? Cropped version by you or the full version.

and For such shot what should be the best? Environmental or more about the model as i really like your crop too, giving a new dimension to the model.

Raj - I'm not suggestion one shot is better or worse than the other. I was merely suggesting that the entire feeling of how a viewer perceives a photo. When you are doing a portrait shoot; try different focal lengths and crops and see how they come out. Each one will be different; then you can decide which one works best for your subject and your taste.

Rotate and zoom in...

[flashback]

Raj,
I like your cropped (#2) and Manfred's crop (#3).
The diagonal line of the model's body against the horizontal stone work works for me, as does the blue against the grey.

Break -
Richard, it's 2014 and I think (IMHO) that your view as to what is feminine/masculine *may* be a bit dated. I think possibly your view may be from a time when there were strict guidelines as to how a model was posed (please...I'm not intending any offense or insult here), but the model in this pose suggests nothing more than an artistic placement. Secondly, you may be assuming that a model has to be either specifically masculine or feminine, an equally outdated ideology, I'd rather judge/appreciate it for it's artistic merit than from any form of cultural bias.

[fotugraphy]

Raj - I'm not suggestion one shot is better or worse than the other. I was merely suggesting that the entire feeling of how a viewer perceives a photo. When you are doing a portrait shoot; try different focal lengths and crops and see how they come out. Each one will be different; then you can decide which one works best for your subject and your taste.

Rotate and zoom in...

Thanks a ton for the wonderful tip about shooting with different focal lengths. I will take multiple shots of the same scene and will decide.

[fotugraphy]

Raj,
I like your cropped (#2) and Manfred's crop (#3).
The diagonal line of the model's body against the horizontal stone work works for me, as does the blue against the grey.

Break -
Richard, it's 2014 and I think (IMHO) that your view as to what is feminine/masculine *may* be a bit dated. I think possibly your view may be from a time when there were strict guidelines as to how a model was posed (please...I'm not intending any offense or insult here), but the model in this pose suggests nothing more than an artistic placement. Secondly, you may be assuming that a model has to be either specifically masculine or feminine, an equally outdated ideology, I'd rather judge/appreciate it for it's artistic merit than from any form of cultural bias.

Thanks a lot for ur review and suggestion for the crop