Are you OK?

[RockNGoalStar]

Hi All,

Long time no see! Been mega busy with work recently, so sorry for not being so active.

Anyways, I am looking for some genuine C&C on this image. A friend of mine has recently moved away from Kentish Town and wanted me to do a street-style photo including the iconic graffiti which you see in this image. Please can you let me know what you think and offer any advice in terms of composition and processing.



Many thanks in advance,

Tom

[Donald]

Tommy

Great to see you back.

Got to rush out. Love this image. Will attempt to comment more constructively later.

[RockNGoalStar]

Thanks Donald!

Really looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

For me it shows exactly what this area of London is all about, multi-culturalism and a real sense of community spirit.

[Mike Buckley]

Very nice interaction between the two individuals! That would be made even stronger for me if the dark part of the sky would be cropped; that dramatic part of the sky is a distraction for me.

[Kittelsaa]

Very nice interaction between the two individuals! That would be made even stronger for me if the dark part of the sky would be cropped; that dramatic part of the sky is a distraction for me.

Mike just said everything I was going to say

[RockNGoalStar]

Thanks guys... The problem I have is that I want it to be a square crop. I have therefore toned down the darkness of the sky a bit so that it's not quite as heavy, but I'd like to retain some level of moodiness in the sky...

[allenlennon]

Every one is different into what they like in photos, me personally LOVE IT! I wouldnt change a thing.

[Donald]

Okay, work done. Sorted out the world in a couple of meetings. Now back home.

For me, all the parts of this image just work wonderfully together. If you'd been working with cardboard cut-outs on a table top you couldn't have constructed this better. So to that extent and in the context of street photography, for me you 'captured the moment' and got yourself into the right location to do so. That, I think, is the key achievement on which the success of this image sits. Even the shadows on the wall work wonderfully.

It is rich narrative, packed full of information about the people involved and their lives. I think the space between them is just perfect in the context of their respective behaviours. It seems there is despair and despondency, caring, sympathy all on show ...... but with a heavy dose of caution and suspicion.

I'd raise one question about the final image - What would it look like if you cropped it at the left just inside that vertical gap in the wall where it changes direction? That would mean taking a bit off the top in order to maintain the 1:1 format and I'm not sure if that would weaken the sky. I wondered if that 'joint' in the wall is a bit of a distraction? Doing what I suggest migth also pull teh young man too much towards the left edge of the image.

[TheArcane]

I agree with what Donald said about the crop. It's hard to say if it would be of benefit to the image or not though. I personally love the moody feel of the sky and would leave it as is. It's truly wonderful when you can create a snapshot in time, that can tell a story and I feel you've really done so here.

[rpcrowe]

I like the waay this image guides my eyes in a triangle, first to the person looking and then to the person sitting and finally up to the Grafitti of "Kentish Town".

[arith]

I didn't notice the dark sky or Kentish town. What I saw was somebody passing a schoolboy in distress, better to leave it or call the parents if you know them.

I forgot; spot on street photo.

[Andrew1]

I too agree the dark clouds are a distraction to this rather nice shot with a statement. In my opinion it's a very good composition and one of the rare photographs I've seen these days that I feel lives in the B&W format. Whether by accident or on purpose it has some things that add to the photo without some people even consciously being aware of them. The dim exposure, the position of the boy, his head down, the graffiti on the building, the dress of the woman, her stature leaning over and down to him, the texture/material of the wall, even the shadows on the wall representing a deteriorated overhead structure all contribute. Very well done on that overall IMO.

I'm not into much PP beyond the basics so would first suggest setting it up more to your liking in-camera. As we are past that and you wish to retain the square framing format the next option would be to lighten the offending area. Beyond that is out of my realm of practice but have seen videos showing what can be done with the Transform feature of some editing software. The vertical area to the left of the boy and the area between the N in TOWN and the tall brick tower could be compressed horizontally without changing the concept of your photo. Drop the top as appropriate. How well that is completed would be dependent upon the software.

[RockNGoalStar]

For me, all the parts of this image just work wonderfully together. If you'd been working with cardboard cut-outs on a table top you couldn't have constructed this better. So to that extent and in the context of street photography, for me you 'captured the moment' and got yourself into the right location to do so. That, I think, is the key achievement on which the success of this image sits. Even the shadows on the wall work wonderfully.

It is rich narrative, packed full of information about the people involved and their lives. I think the space between them is just perfect in the context of their respective behaviours. It seems there is despair and despondency, caring, sympathy all on show ...... but with a heavy dose of caution and suspicion.

Thanks Donald. Really appreciate that. I also think you've summed up the relationship between the two perfectly.Also what pleases me is the fact that my friend, who I took the shot for, also likes it.

I'd raise one question about the final image - What would it look like if you cropped it at the left just inside that vertical gap in the wall where it changes direction? That would mean taking a bit off the top in order to maintain the 1:1 format and I'm not sure if that would weaken the sky. I wondered if that 'joint' in the wall is a bit of a distraction? Doing what I suggest migth also pull teh young man too much towards the left edge of the image.

I agree with what Donald said about the crop. It's hard to say if it would be of benefit to the image or not though. I personally love the moody feel of the sky and would leave it as is. It's truly wonderful when you can create a snapshot in time, that can tell a story and I feel you've really done so here.

I will try this and see how I get on. Unfortunately, with this kind of shot and with the such a short amount of time to prepare, my priority was to capture the moment and composition came in a close second. I will see what it looks like though and, if there's a vast improvement I'll post my results here.

Every one is different into what they like in photos, me personally LOVE IT! I wouldnt change a thing.

Thanks a lot Allan!

I like the waay this image guides my eyes in a triangle, first to the person looking and then to the person sitting and finally up to the Grafitti of "Kentish Town".

The more i look at the image the more triangles I see in it, and I think this helps the eye to move around the scene and discover new things. Thanks for pointing that out

I didn't notice the dark sky or Kentish town. What I saw was somebody passing a schoolboy in distress, better to leave it or call the parents if you know them.

I forgot; spot on street photo.

Thanks Steve

I too agree the dark clouds are a distraction to this rather nice shot with a statement. In my opinion it's a very good composition and one of the rare photographs I've seen these days that I feel lives in the B&W format. Whether by accident or on purpose it has some things that add to the photo without some people even consciously being aware of them. The dim exposure, the position of the boy, his head down, the graffiti on the building, the dress of the woman, her stature leaning over and down to him, the texture/material of the wall, even the shadows on the wall representing a deteriorated overhead structure all contribute. Very well done on that overall IMO.

Thanks a lot Andrew

I'm not into much PP beyond the basics so would first suggest setting it up more to your liking in-camera. As we are past that and you wish to retain the square framing format the next option would be to lighten the offending area. Beyond that is out of my realm of practice but have seen videos showing what can be done with the Transform feature of some editing software. The vertical area to the left of the boy and the area between the N in TOWN and the tall brick tower could be compressed horizontally without changing the concept of your photo. Drop the top as appropriate. How well that is completed would be dependent upon the software.

Hadn't thought about that. It's something that's quite simple to do in Photoshop so, if I play around with the crop then I can always employ this technique to keep the sky.

Thanks to all for your comments. I printed a test shot last night and it looks better in print. Can't wait to see it framed and hung up at my friend's house

Tommy