My first annonymous people photo

[Blackcollar]

Reflection...



Canon T2i, 24-105 F4.5L (shot at 73mm), 1/250 sec at F4, ISO 100

[Shadowman]

Well if you wanted to sell it you wouldn't need a model release. Were you trying to tell a story with this photo?

Which figure was your main subject and where exactly were you focusing, it seems to be the gentleman on the right? Should you have your camera set at infinity when you are using a wide aperture? At infinity all of the frame should be in focus, but your depth of field is shortened by your choice of aperture.

[Blackcollar]

Hi Shadowman;
You got it exactly.. I wanted the viewer to come up with their own story. I did focus on the older gentleman as he was looking at the sitting couple. By having him in focus, it makes him the start of the picture. Your eyes are drawn towards the couple, but being slightly out of focus, it brings you back to the gentleman again. The out of focus gives a sense of imagination if you will.

Of course, that is what I wanted to project. A deeper depth of field would have been a good picture too, but an expected picture. This one gets you to think a bit if you look at it long enough.

Cheers

-Al

[Donald]

For an image with such narrative and nuances in the message the viewer is invited to take, I would have begun by thinking about Black & White. I think colour diverts attention away from the sort of thinking that it was intended to stimulate.

[Blackcollar]

Good point, I,ll have to change it and have look... The one thing that really bothers me is the garbage can.

[Shadowman]

Good point, I,ll have to change it and have look... The one thing that really bothers me is the garbage can.

I get annoyed about obstructions, especially street signs in front of cathedrals, but they are a part of our environment. I was down near the harbor and wanted to incorporate the very essence of my annoyance (a street sign) into a photograph because I liked the way its shadow fell forward into the frame. After taking a few test shots to get the exposure right, I was shooting into the sun and wanted to get the lettering sharp, a plastic cup rolled across the ground and just stopped right next to the shadow area. I had to decide whether I wanted to remove the cup or just let it stay there as a symbol of humanity encroaching upon itself. So I decided to do both, get the shot as it was and then remove to achieve my original purpose. The problem with removing the obstructions is that not every one views that particular cathedral or harbor the way you do, in an artistic way, they see it as an everyday occurrence, street signs and electrical wires included.

[Donald]

.... The one thing that really bothers me is the garbage can.

Alain - As you write in your first response above, your goal was to make the man the centre of attention. You can do that and in so doing, draw attention away from the garbage can and other parts of the scene.

As well as using focus and out-of-focus you can, in post processing, begin to manage the impact of the lighting and use vignettes as well as dodge and burn techniques to move the centre of attention to different parts of the image.

I hope you do not mind (please say if you do and I'll remove it), but the best way of illustrating this is to show what I mean. I have created a vignette, but the centre of that vignette is the man, not the centre of the picture, so you don't really see it at all on the right hand side of the picture. So almost all of the left hand side of the picture has now been darkened by a vignette. On top of that I have burned the top so that our eyes are less diverted to the bright sky.

And, as I suggested in my first post, the extraction of colour does, I think, lend more to the sort of atmosphere I understood that you wanted to create.

Anyway, hopefully this gives you some ideas for your future work.

ps - I cloned out that thing in the water just beside the man's face.

[speedneeder]

Interesting conversation. For me the b&w doesn't really change the focus of the image, but I am biased toward color images. Perhaps leaving the man alone and slightly desaturating other parts would draw focus to the man. I actually think the splash of color in his jacket draws attention to him. I like the vignette, though I wonder if the lower left corner has become just a little too dark. Removing the bird/thing by his face helps.

[Geoff F]

I see what you mean, Alain, by creating a scene which could have a number of different eventual outcomes. A bit like an advertising poster for a thriller film.

And yes it all depends on that figure in black on the right. Are his intentions sinister, or is he actually a protector viewing the situation from a slight distance while watching for any potential problems.

The only difficulty I really had with the actual photo was that white object in the river, which Donald has removed. For me, the garbage can is essential as it is the one element which separates the figures and makes all the potential scenarios possible.

[Shadowman]

I see what you mean, Alain, by creating a scene which could have a number of different eventual outcomes. A bit like an advertising poster for a thriller film.

And yes it all depends on that figure in black on the right. Are his intentions sinister, or is he actually a protector viewing the situation from a slight distance while watching for any potential problems.

The only difficulty I really had with the actual photo was that white object in the river, which Donald has removed. For me, the garbage can is essential as it is the one element which separates the figures and makes all the potential scenarios possible.

Or is he saying "Don't jump son, it'll all get better in twenty or so years".

[Blackcollar]

Nice work Donald, I see what you mean, very effective. Cloning out the navigation buoy is also a must. You know, I was so concentrating on the processing, I missed out the buoy completely.

Thanks for all the hints which will make my pictures better. It all helps.

-Al

[Geoff F]

Or is he saying "Don't jump son, it'll all get better in twenty or so years".

Or on the negative side. 'Look at me - this is your future'

[Daisy Mae]

love Donald's conversion.