Woman Power - C & C are welcome

[Tejal]

I have tried to capture some women working on the river bank and helping males in excavation of sand from the river.

Kindly share your C&C for the same.

Regards,

Tejal

IMG_5621 as Smart Object-1 by Tejal Imagination, on Flickr

IMG_5633 as Smart Object-1 by Tejal Imagination, on Flickr

IMG_5644 as Smart Object-1 by Tejal Imagination, on Flickr

[IzzieK]

Your title should have been "Women At Work" you know....reminds me of that Australian song Men At Work, but the other way around. The second shot is the best with the women as their pose is better there too but I like the last one if you will crop the image from just after the boat at the left side and make it a square crop. I like the inclusion of the bridge on the right side. A combination of the two would have been nicer.

[Tejal]

Your title should have been "Women At Work" you know....reminds me of that Australian song Men At Work, but the other way around. The second shot is the best with the women as their pose is better there too but I like the last one if you will crop the image from just after the boat at the left side and make it a square crop. I like the inclusion of the bridge on the right side. A combination of the two would have been nicer.

Got it..... will do that. Even while processing, I also felt so, but then..................

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Tejal,

I basically agree with the preferences and suggestions Izzie made.

For me:
In #1, the background boats are equally as sharp as the women and some intersect the main subject and are of similar lightness and colour
#2 solves the 'boats overlapping head' issue of #1 - well done, although the background is still too sharp for my liking. The shot is clearly not level
#3 has slightly better (softer) background because the primary subject is that bit closer and you have focussed on her - the bridge helps with context - you have the boats directly behind the subject, but it is almost OK here because the relative position, sharpness, tone and colour of the two are sufficiently different. This shot is also not level, although better than #2

I don't know what PP software you have or even the camera, lens and aperture used as there is no EXIF data available.
If I were processing these I would be using Photoshop CC with ACR 9.1 and be sure that the Lens Profile geometric correction feature was 'on' to correct the evident barrel distortion of the lens. I am guessing it was a fairly wide angle lens and the subjects were shot from quite close quarters, hence the excessive Depth of Field (and geometric distortion).

For capturing work stories like this in a single shot with multiple subjects, it helps if you can show the various stages - e.g. to show an empty bowl, one being filled and one being carried. You have achieved this in #3, although there is room for slight improvement (the empty bowl is rather small in frame and partially hidden).

I cannot claim that I would have thought of all these things myself while shooting the scene, but that's the benefit of hindsight and having time to really analyse a shot, so please don't be discouraged. If both you and I shot such a scene today, we'd both make a better job of it than before I had written this.

I hope those thoughts help, Dave

[Tejal]

No no...not at all Dave. Many thanks for all your valuable inputs. I web very careful for next time:. : )

Hi Tejal,

I basically agre with the preferences and suggestions Izzie made.

For me:
In #1, the background boats are equally as sharp as the women and some intersect the main subject and are of similar lightness and colour
#2 solves the 'boats overlapping head' issue of #1 - well done, although the background is still too sharp for my liking. The shot is clearly not level
#3 has slightly better (softer) background because the primary subject is that bit closer and you have focussed on her - the bridge helps with context - you have the boats directly behind the subject, but it is almost OK here because the relative position, sharpness, tone and colour of the two are sufficiently different. This shot is also not level, although better than #2

I don't know what PP software you have or even the camera, lens and aperture used as there is no EXIF data available.
If I were processing these I would be using Photoshop CC with ACR 9.1 and be sure that the Lens Profile geometric correction feature was 'on' to correct the evident barrel distortion of the lens. I am guessing it was a fairly wide angle lens and the subjects were shot from quite close quarters, hence the excessive Depth of Field (and geometric distortion).

For capturing work stories like this in a single shot with multiple subjects, it helps if you can show the various stages - e.g. to show an empty bowl, one being filled and one being carried. You have achieved this in #3, although there is room for slight improvement (the empty bowl is rather small in frame and partially hidden).

I cannot claim that I would have thought of all these things myself while shooting the scene, but that's the benefit of hindsight and having time to really analyse a shot, so please don't be discouraged. If both you and I shot such a scene today, we'd both make a better job of it than before I had written this.

I hope those thoughts help, Dave

[Shadowman]

Nicely done, I see you used a faster shutter speed on the second and third image, did you find any issues doing so? I like how you are able to capture the colorful garments of the women.

[bnnrcn]

I like the colorfulness of those images Tejal

[chauncey]

Woefully inadequate would describe my knowledge of your country Tejal...my bad.
We, in the west, would not wear such gorgeous, colorful clothes while gathering sand from the banks.

The colors are what makes your images beautiful. I do have a question...what's the sand used for?

[Manfred M]

Tejal - just to add to the comments that Izzie and Dave made.

I would suggest that your are running into an issue where you are far too close to these women to get anything other than a wide-angle shot that includes far too much background. To me these are all shots that should be made with a longer focal length so that you narrow the angle of view and soften out any of the superfluous background material.

You have shown us images shot with a 55-250mm lens. I would use it, rather than the 18-55mm. This means a different technical challenge; finding the appropriate aperture to keep the subject sharp, while ensuring that your shutter speed is fast enough to eliminate any motion blur.

[Tejal]

Nicely done, I see you used a faster shutter speed on the second and third image, did you find any issues doing so? I like how you are able to capture the colorful garments of the women.

Thnx John...yes faster shutter speed always results into crispy shot. This shots were taken on the same day at same place where my previously posted shots were taken of that kid and others near the bridge. Climate was little cloudy so, there was continues fluctuation in natural light. ISO, some how i have tried to control but for that at some place, it might have resulted into less shutter speed.

[Tejal]

I like the colorfulness of those images Tejal

Thanks Binnur !!

[Tejal]

Woefully inadequate would describe my knowledge of your country Tejal...my bad.
We, in the west, would not wear such gorgeous, colorful clothes while gathering sand from the banks.

The colors are what makes your images beautiful. I do have a question...what's the sand used for?

ha ha ha..... clothing vary from community to community, class to class, occasion to occasion, here in India . lot of varieties. About sand, it is use mainly for construction of buildings.

[Tejal]

Tejal - just to add to the comments that Izzie and Dave made.

I would suggest that your are running into an issue where you are far too close to these women to get anything other than a wide-angle shot that includes far too much background. To me these are all shots that should be made with a longer focal length so that you narrow the angle of view and soften out any of the superfluous background material.

You have shown us images shot with a 55-250mm lens. I would use it, rather than the 18-55mm. This means a different technical challenge; finding the appropriate aperture to keep the subject sharp, while ensuring that your shutter speed is fast enough to eliminate any motion blur.

hmmmmmm..... about using 55-250 mm lens, i have taken some shots with that too. I will share those images too very shortly. With a concept of taking shots for street category, I have used 18-55 mm lens and have tried to go close to the subject and also tried to take the back ground too sharp enough.

But for shutter speed, I will be now, very very careful, for sure.

Thank you very much for your valuable suggestions . I always eagerly wait for those .

[Manfred M]

hmmmmmm..... about using 55-250 mm lens, i have taken some shots with that too. I will share those images too very shortly. With a concept of taking shots for street category, I have used 18-55 mm lens and have tried to go close to the subject and also tried to take the back ground too sharp enough.

But for shutter speed, I will be now, very very careful, for sure.

Thank you very much for your valuable suggestions . I always eagerly wait for those .

Tejal - the people that suggest using wide to normal focal lengths in street photography do so for one reason, and that is so that your subject interacts with you the photographer. This generally means they notice your presence and look at the camera. This is happening only in the last shot; you are in the way and the woman carrying the sand is looking at you (I assume ensuring that she does not run into you). The other two shots (and many of the other street photography shots you have posted) have no such interaction (and there is nothing wrong with that either, although some street photographers might disagree with my comment).

Being close in an urban setting often means a fairly neutral background; one that does not distract the viewer from the person in the image. Often shooting wide is necessary to tell you something about the context of the person; the environment he or she is in, what they are doing, etc. Your pot makers shot or the tailor shop shots do this. Regardless, to get a good street photo; the image composition still has to work.

When you get a situation like these shots, where the background is distracting, you the photographer needs to find a solution. Changing your camera angle to eliminate distractions is one thing one can do. Shooting from a higher vantage point in order to cut out a distracting background is something else. I don't know if any of this is possible from where you are shooting, but narrowing the angle of view certainly is a tool that can remove distractions, and the way to do this is to shoot with a longer focal length. As you don't seem to be interacting with your subjects, I don't see you losing anything by shooting with a longer lens.

[Tejal]

Tejal - the people that suggest using wide to normal focal lengths in street photography do so for one reason, and that is so that your subject interacts with you the photographer. This generally means they notice your presence and look at the camera. This is happening only in the last shot; you are in the way and the woman carrying the sand is looking at you (I assume ensuring that she does not run into you). The other two shots (and many of the other street photography shots you have posted) have no such interaction (and there is nothing wrong with that either, although some street photographers might disagree with my comment).

Being close in an urban setting often means a fairly neutral background; one that does not distract the viewer from the person in the image. Often shooting wide is necessary to tell you something about the context of the person; the environment he or she is in, what they are doing, etc. Your pot makers shot or the tailor shop shots do this. Regardless, to get a good street photo; the image composition still has to work.

When you get a situation like these shots, where the background is distracting, you the photographer needs to find a solution. Changing your camera angle to eliminate distractions is one thing one can do. Shooting from a higher vantage point in order to cut out a distracting background is something else. I don't know if any of this is possible from where you are shooting, but narrowing the angle of view certainly is a tool that can remove distractions, and the way to do this is to shoot with a longer focal length. As you don't seem to be interacting with your subjects, I don't see you losing anything by shooting with a longer lens.

Very well described. Quite a lot things got clear to me. What you conveyed about street shot, i always have this question in my mind about keeping wide. Yes, i was not interacting with subject and for some time, they were not even knowing that they are being clicked. About the distracting background, how to control, very good suggestion . I hope, when i go next time for shooting, i would succeed in taking care of all these suggestions... .

[rpcrowe]

I do like the first image best. However, I tried a square crop which places the nearest woman image left and allows some space for her to gaze off. I can relate to her feeling and have stood like that myself to take a slight break from digging (which I detest).



I also used the blur tool on the boats directly behind the nearest woman. Brightened the faces of both women and, finally, brightened and added some structure to the sand...

If this were a final copy for me, I would have been a bit more careful using the blur tool around the standing woman's face.

[Tejal]

I do like the first image best. However, I tried a square crop which places the nearest woman image left and allows some space for her to gaze off. I can relate to her feeling and have stood like that myself to take a slight break from digging (which I detest).



I also used the blur tool on the boats directly behind the nearest woman. Brightened the faces of both women and, finally, brightened and added some structure to the sand...

If this were a final copy for me, I would have been a bit more careful using the blur tool around the standing woman's face.

This version is looking very nice Richard !! Thank you very much. For the background, i think i will have to be very careful .

[rpcrowe]

Items in the background as well as unwanted items intruding into a frame from the sides or top can spoil otherwise wonderful images...

[Tejal]

Items in the background as well as unwanted items intruding into a frame from the sides or top can spoil otherwise wonderful images...

True...!!