In Prayer

[ashish]

Taken at the Church of King Menelik II on the top of Entoto mountain overlooking Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

C&C welcome.

[Shadowman]

Nicely framed, the figure on right is dwarfed by the massiveness of the church, yet the figure does help illustrate scale of the structure.

[Manfred M]

Ashish - while this is another well executed image, I find it does not work all that well for me, purely because the building so totally overwhelms the person. While it does give the viewer a sense of scale, the person is really not a significant part of the image.

I use a fairly simple test when I look at something like this. If I were to clone out the person, would it significantly change the character of the image? I suspect the answer would be "no".

[ashish]

Ashish - while this is another well executed image, I find it does not work all that well for me, purely because the building so totally overwhelms the person. While it does give the viewer a sense of scale, the person is really not a significant part of the image.

I use a fairly simple test when I look at something like this. If I were to clone out the person, would it significantly change the character of the image? I suspect the answer would be "no".

Thank you for your thoughts Manfred... I understand the point you are trying to make. I couldn't think of a better angle on the field. I would really appreciate if you could share some pointers to keep in mind while shooting such pictures. Thanks in advance.

[george013]

Firstly, I like the picture, with that person. But at the same time I believe that person is giving me mis-information. When I compare that person with the stair steps and the ballustrade, then I think it's a very small person.
Am I right or not?

George

[Manfred M]

Ashish - My initial thought was that you were looking at the figure as praying at / near the building. That implied that this was the subject, rather than the building and if this was your intent, your subject is being totally overwhelmed by the structure. If on the other hand the subject is the building, then the figure is just a distraction as it doesn't really add that much to the composition.

I wish there a nice, simple, easy and straight forward answer here, but I'm afraid there isn't and that's why photographers will work a scene, taking the shot from different positions, using different camera settings and different focal lengths. In situations like this shot, the photographer is facing the additional problem of having part of the material that you are shooting is mobile and might be intimidated if you got too close.

If you have ever looked at architectural renderings, where a new building design is produced and shown. The building is rarely shown along, but rather it is shown in a landscaped setting, with people, cars and other "accessories" to make the rendering look less sterile. This might be an approach as well, having these features in the background in a way that the figures complement the image, without overpowering it.

To demonstrate what I am thinking here, I've done this with one of the images I posted from my recent trip to Japan:

Shinkanzen

The people, plants and other devices help give the shot a bit of perspective and life.

[ashish]

Ashish - My initial thought was that you were looking at the figure as praying at / near the building. That implied that this was the subject, rather than the building and if this was your intent, your subject is being totally overwhelmed by the structure. If on the other hand the subject is the building, then the figure is just a distraction as it doesn't really add that much to the composition.

I wish there a nice, simple, easy and straight forward answer here, but I'm afraid there isn't and that's why photographers will work a scene, taking the shot from different positions, using different camera settings and different focal lengths. In situations like this shot, the photographer is facing the additional problem of having part of the material that you are shooting is mobile and might be intimidated if you got too close.

If you have ever looked at architectural renderings, where a new building design is produced and shown. The building is rarely shown along, but rather it is shown in a landscaped setting, with people, cars and other "accessories" to make the rendering look less sterile. This might be an approach as well, having these features in the background in a way that the figures complement the image, without overpowering it.

To demonstrate what I am thinking here, I've done this with one of the images I posted from my recent trip to Japan:

Shinkanzen

The people, plants and other devices help give the shot a bit of perspective and life.

Thanks Manfred... will keep these points in mind going forward.