Young Man and Guitar

[CNelson]

OK...I'll confess up front, this is my attempt to show off my grandson as well as my attempt at portrait photography. I'm not a portrait photographer but my grandson was home from England where he is serving in the Air Force as a F15 crew chief. I hadn't seen him in over a year and we were able to get together for a brief visit and I wanted to get a current picture. I taught him to play the guitar and he's already better than I am but we still like to jam a bit. He was self conscious about having his picture taken so I told him to just pick and ignore me. I used available light and an on-camera flash. Here's six shots/variations.

Chuck

#1



#2

http://www.chucknelsonphotography.co...33379070-3.jpg

#3

http://www.chucknelsonphotography.co...26344899-3.jpg

#4

http://www.chucknelsonphotography.co...40189693-3.jpg

#5

http://www.chucknelsonphotography.co...45281358-3.jpg

#6 (last...or at last as the case may be)

http://www.chucknelsonphotography.co...96842353-3.jpg

[John C]

I think I like #4 the best. It has a good triangle effect going on that has the viewer looking from the face to the hand on the left, then on to the hand on the right.

[CNelson]

I think I like #4 the best. It has a good triangle effect going on that has the viewer looking from the face to the hand on the left, then on to the hand on the right.

Hi John...an interesting observation on the triangle. Now that you mention it, my eyes follow a somewhat similar path. I think I may follow the path in the opposite direction though. My eyes go from his face to his left hand on the guitar neck, down the neck to his right hand with the pick then back to his face but on the way back to his face I follow the arm up to the elbow then to the face so it's almost a rectangular path. I was following this path without realizing it until your observation.

I'd like to claim that I created that eye-path with a burst of artistic genius but, alas, it was the luck of the click. I was concentrating on framing rather than eye paths.

Now that you have me looking at eye paths...the first one has a very rectangular eye path.

Chuck

[PopsPhotos]

It would be interesting to examine the path of those who play guitar and those who have never. I follow from face (subject) to left hand (which fingering is used) to right hand (which strings are being struck) and then back to the face. I used to play.

John C, Do you / did you play guitar?

Pops

[Colin Southern]

It would be interesting to examine the path of those who play guitar and those who have never.

I play the guitar ...

very VERY badly, so not sure where that leaves me!

Chuck,

#4 was my favourite as well. It always seems to be a bit weird to "cut off the top of a head", but (a) I see it done all the time, and (b) it seems to work.

[arith]

I'll never win a competition because my taste is completely different to everybody; I like #1 the best.

I tried to learn how to play guitar but had to give up when the neighbors started to play 'guess that tune' .

[CNelson]

Re pickers and non-pickers. I think it may make a difference in how the eye-path flows. Once it was mentioned I went back and looked again at these (and others on my website) images and I see a distinct rectangular or quadrilateral eye-path from face to left hand, down the neck to right hand up the arm to the elbow then back to the face. When I play I often look at my left hand on the neck so perhaps that's what starts me in that direction.

Colin, as for cutting of the top of the head, I have also had your observation. It isn't what we are used to doing but it works. I did it on purpose (in camera) to emphasize the face. I think it tends to make the image a bit more intimate (for lack of a better word).

Chuck

[Radu Dinu Cordeanu]

OK...I'll confess up front, this is my attempt to show off my grandson as well as my attempt at portrait photography. I'm not a portrait photographer but my grandson was home from England where he is serving in the Air Force as a F15 crew chief. I hadn't seen him in over a year and we were able to get together for a brief visit and I wanted to get a current picture. I taught him to play the guitar and he's already better than I am but we still like to jam a bit. He was self conscious about having his picture taken so I told him to just pick and ignore me. I used available light and an on-camera flash. Here's six shots/variations.

Chuck

#1



#2

http://www.chucknelsonphotography.co...33379070-3.jpg

#3

http://www.chucknelsonphotography.co...26344899-3.jpg

#4

http://www.chucknelsonphotography.co...40189693-3.jpg

#5

http://www.chucknelsonphotography.co...45281358-3.jpg

#6 (last...or at last as the case may be)

http://www.chucknelsonphotography.co...96842353-3.jpg

Hi,
I took your first shot and "transformed"it to add some movement because in my mind to play guitar does not mean to stay with a guitar and look at it.It means to be in action.
So:1.enhance,adjust color,adjust hue/saturation,saturation -100;2.image ,transform,skew,to modify the angles;3.filter,blur,move blur to add more action;4.filter,blur,Gaussian blur,to move out surroundings.
Because i processed it in very short time I did not pay attention to the details,I tried to tell You about a way we could photograph a player:long focal&time with inclined viewfinder(camera).



Merry Christmas

[arith]

Probably better if you only had movement in the strumming hand. But good idea and the same goes for dancers; I think the face is the only thing needing to be sharp and the difficult bit is getting just the right amount of movement.

This looks interesting; a topic worthy of attention. I another thread I saw somebody was going to photograph a club with 1/4 second exposure; this I think will just be a blur and not too much is needed.

[CNelson]

Very interesting effect Radu. Thank you for demonstrating it.

Chuck

[Hans]

#1 then #2 and then #4 (good crop)
#4 Face --> left hand --> right hand ... had a dabble for 6mths or so when at university.