I prefer the second example, as it leaves enough of the original to note that she is peering out around the crowd. That is what I was going to do, but you beat me to it.
Pops
My votes:
1st Wendy
2nd Ashooor
3rd Arith
but it was a close call
Yep, I have to agree I prefer Wendy's version. Although it is a bit difficult to compare tucked up in bed with Robert Falcon Scott (the book, the book) and viewed on my Blackberry. The original image looked like one of those tragic photographic mistakes where you get auntie Hilda's rear end intruding in the shot of a lifetime. When I had got past auntie Hilda's nether regions this is a beautiful portrait. The crop makes the intrusion on the right appear planned and makes for a strikingly unusual shot
Steve
I agree 100% with all that Steve has just said. And thanks for all the comments in this thread. I've found it an excellent learning exercise.
Now just got to try and get rid of the image of Steve in bed with Robert Falcon Scott, Auntie Hilda and somebody called Blackberry!
Nope. I prefer your first one Wendy.Actually, I think I like this better
Hi All
Just home from work .... 1st day back.
I like challenges like this! I used to watch my Dad spend hours with a print and pieces of paper / card masking off different areas and amounts of a photograph.
As many forms of photography are a form of art, we all have differing tastes and what suits / pleases me may not please you
Personally I find the black area very distracting from a rather interesting face. So for starters, I'd run with Ashoor's crop, but I'd also try an oval mask over the top of the shot with a faded inner edge, I'd try different colour masks and size and amounts of fade. Certainly I'd try to make the eyes stand out as much as possible to draw you into the shot.
Anoher choice from me would be to try to clone the face & hair to restore the face and maybe then, if it looks too artificial, try the mask again - maybe a vertical oval??
It's all a matter of taste - your taste unless you want to sell it or enter it into a competition then you may have to consider other points of view.
Just my two penny worth [p not d ]
Rob
Thanks a lot, guys. This is very helpful.
I think I agree with most of you that Wendy's first try #5 is the best. I think it has to be portrait like so I did not like the square ones, the blocking object is a person, so I do not like to see her face on the upper right corner and I like to see as much as possible of the face of the subject.
Thanks again!
I like square too but with the long black area on the left side I think square does not work, at least for me.
By the way, post number 5 is not square, it is rectangular as far as I can say but anyway, I like the vertical shape of it.
You are right about 5D, it is such a great camera. This image was taken without flash at around sunset time when the sun was almost at horizon and the yellow light was acting like a very soft nice fill light. The other factor is that 70-200mm f/2,8 L lens, it is a fantastic lens!
Sorry About the statue comment Alis, I thought for sure the blocking object was some kind of dark coloured statue.the blocking object is a person
How did you manage to get the subject so well exposed and the other person so dark. They appear to be quite close together. It does not make sense to me unless it was photoshopped or something, which I suppose would also account for the dark blue fringe that I see in certain areas. I'm just learning all this stuff, so I mean no disrespect with all the questions, just curious.
Wendy
Last edited by Colin Southern; 30th December 2009 at 12:07 AM.