Man on the street: Oh, what a happy man he was

[juznobsrvr]

Note: The pixel monster ate his neck. Oh well.

Juzno: What is your name?

Mack: It's Mac.

Juzno: Is that your real name?

Mack: No, it's really Makuling Makabunot.

Juzno: Why are you happy?

Mack: I was able to solve Zeno's Paradox. Contrary to the evidence of one's senses, the belief in plurality and change is mistaken, and in particular that motion is nothing but an illusion.

[Mike Buckley]

A very nice image. You've really captured his personality.

I'm not sure how I feel about the rear of the head and neck and the front of the neck fading into the background. I would normally suggest that creating separation between the subject and background would improve it but I sort of like the style you've used, probably because it involves both the front and rear.

Though the bright spot in the background at his right temple creates separation, I sure do wish you could achieve it there without having to resort to the use of such a small, bright area; it's a bit distracting.

[juznobsrvr]

A very nice image. You've really captured his personality.

I'm not sure how I feel about the rear of the head and neck and the front of the neck fading into the background. I would normally suggest that creating separation between the subject and background would improve it but I sort of like the style you've used, probably because it involves both the front and rear.

Though the bright spot in the background at his right temple creates separation, I sure do wish you could achieve it there without having to resort to the use of such a small, bright area; it's a bit distracting.

Cheers, Mike ... thanks for noticing and kind comment. I had issues with the neck too but it is what it is. Truthfully, the neck was salvaged by compositing two images together. I wished there was more detail but it is the best I can pull out. I've left the white streak behind his head because by cloning it out I thought his head would look like it was floating on a black void. I wanted to anchor the subject in some kind of a reality - meaning something tangible. Perhaps if I have more detail on the neck then I would have done that. Obviously it is not a perfect shot. And definitely a lot of learning from the shooting experience.

[Manfred M]

Mike has beat me to it (dare I say again).

I do like this image; the textures and just those smiling eyes are excellent. On the other hand, I can't say I'm a great fan of "free floating" heads, so a bit of a rim light to separate your subject from the background would likely be more to my taste.

I'm also not sure about the lighter spot coming out of his head; while it does add some separation, it almost looks like a horn. I'm also not quite sure why you left such a large area of space on the left side of the image; I wonder if a square crop might not be an option to consider?

[Shadowman]

Nicely done.

[Mike Buckley]

definitely a lot of learning from the shooting experience.

It gets only a little better and a lot worse than that. Keep shooting!

[juznobsrvr]

Mike has beat me to it (dare I say again).

I do like this image; the textures and just those smiling eyes are excellent. On the other hand, I can't say I'm a great fan of "free floating" heads, so a bit of a rim light to separate your subject from the background would likely be more to my taste.

I'm also not sure about the lighter spot coming out of his head; while it does add some separation, it almost looks like a horn. I'm also not quite sure why you left such a large area of space on the left side of the image; I wonder if a square crop might not be an option to consider?

Cheers, Manfred ... like yourself I'm not a great fan of "free floating" heads. And I agree that a bit of a rim light to separate my subject from the background would likely improve the image. As it is I'm filing a complaint to the Sun for not doing his job well. This was shot in the street so it is what it is. As for the horn, Mac tells me that it is part of his signature look. A square crop? Why didn't I think of that? I was taught that the subject shouldn't be centered. Mmmmmust resist temptationnnnn.... Maybe I just didn't want to waste a few pixels. Hah.

Thanks for kind and valuable critique.

[juznobsrvr]

Nicely done.

Cheers, John ... thanks for kind response.

[truonda]

I think it's a great shot. I think the current crop is fine.

[Manfred M]

I was taught that the subject shouldn't be centered. Mmmmmust resist temptationnnnn.... Maybe I just didn't want to waste a few pixels. Hah.

I was also taught that that "rule" does not apply to head shots and the positioning of the leading eye roughly where the horizontal and vertical third intersect provides you with a strong composition, even if the head is centred.

On the other hand Peter Hurley leaves a lot of white space to one side of his subjects headshots and ensurse the eyes are on the top 1/3 line.

Regardless, a very compelling image.

Just wondering, how does it look in colour?

[juznobsrvr]

I think it's a great shot. I think the current crop is fine.

Cheers, Dan ... I should have polled whether to crop or not. Obviously, I rendered it this way because I thought it was the best. :-)

[juznobsrvr]

I was also taught that that "rule" does not apply to head shots and the positioning of the leading eye roughly where the horizontal and vertical third intersect provides you with a strong composition, even if the head is centred.

On the other hand Peter Hurley leaves a lot of white space to one side of his subjects headshots and ensurse the eyes are on the top 1/3 line.

Regardless, a very compelling image.

Just wondering, how does it look in colour?

Cheers, Manfred ... I rendered this in BW because I thought the RAW version was bleah (heh). I always felt that BW on portraits seem to look better. But that is just me. As far as head shots, I read somewhere that putting the dominant eye on the center can make a compelling image. Obviously, not on this shot. I have done that on some of my other shots and thought that it worked well. Also, I think that the eyes located above the third quadrant (of the rule of thirds) always work better. I've always adhere to that "rule" whenever I can.

[juznobsrvr]

It gets only a little better and a lot worse than that. Keep shooting!

There are times when it feels like stuff are getting worse. We are our worst critic. Cheers, Mike.

[John 2]

It's all been said but in the end that's a quality image. I like that a lot. I would love to see that hung as a large print. It would have great impact.

[juznobsrvr]

It's all been said but in the end that's a quality image. I like that a lot. I would love to see that hung as a large print. It would have great impact.

Thanks, John. Your kind and encouraging words mean a lot to me.

[KimC]

love it!

[juznobsrvr]

love it!

Cheers, ... thanks for kind response

[deetheturk]

Great capture Rob!

[juznobsrvr]

Great capture Rob!

Cheers, David ... thanks for noticing and kind words ... mean a lot

[Brownbear]

Just to say that I adore this image.. Beautifully photographed and captured with so much expression/personality.