Street Portrait.

[John 2]

Beginning to process a few from Portugal. This gentleman was one of the helpers supporting the street artist I posted last week. He had an interesting face. One of the pluses for me is the lens performance. I bought the 18-55mm as a carry on holiday lens to avoid carrying several all day but it belies its description as a kit lens.

Fuji XT-1
18-55mm lens.

[gregj1763]

That's a keeper John, I like what you have done in pp great separation between subject and background

[dje]

Yes John it works for me too !

Dave

[deetheturk]

Very nice John, I like the way you have framed him with the arch!

[Shadowman]

Nicely captured.

[rpcrowe]

Nice one! Both the capture and the PP...

[bnnrcn]

Great image John I wouldn't use a frame but it's just me.

[MarieV]

I agree John - he does have an interesting face and beautifully captured.

[John 2]

Thanks all for your comments. Don't do much portraiture but I liked this one.

[pnodrog]

Lovely tonal range and detail on the face.

I am a little bit uneasy with the sharp edge at the top oh the head, on his left shoulder/collar and the lighter than seems correct area inside the arc of hair or plat/band. Well worth the effort of giving it a bit more attention.

[IzzieK]

For someone who do not do much portraiture this is an excellent shot!

[John 2]

Thanks all for your comments. LP I see what you mean. I suspect the light patch isn't helping either because it draws attention to the area. Have to see what I can do about that.

[Rob Ekins]

Very nice. I might look at brightening the eyes ever so slightly, great shot though.

[Ziggy]

Interesting subject and well captured.

[Manfred M]

John; while I like the capture and the processing; I find there are two things that I don't love about the shot.

The first issue that I have is that there is too much "head space" above your subject and it does not contribute anything to the shot. If it were my shot, I would go for a tighter crop. The second issue is what Binnur has already mentioned; I'm not crazy about the frame. While I like frames in general, I find this one too dark. I suspect a white or light frame might work better.

[John 2]

Thanks for the additional feedback. It has been very useful.

Robbie - absolutely and well spotted.

Manfred, I like the crop. Normally I automatically try to avoid cutting off arches in architectural images and that is what will have been at the back of my mind here but of course as BG, it doesn't matter. The frame is a difficult one. I do tend to try and present an image so that it looks fully finished. I know that isn't everyone's view and I can't disagree with you in this case. I try to match the frame to the subject but I struggled here. A white frame doesn't do it for me either. I have tried it after your comment. If I were mounting it as a print, it would probably end up on a very pale cream board but that doesn't work digitally either. Perhaps no frame at all is the solution for this one.

[Manfred M]

Manfred, I like the crop. Normally I automatically try to avoid cutting off arches in architectural images and that is what will have been at the back of my mind here but of course as BG, it doesn't matter.

Written like a true urban landscape photographer...

I did very much the same thing when I first started shooting portraits until a portrait photographer pointed out to me that I was weakening my composition by thinking like a landscape photographer, rather than a portrait photographer. That is not to say that an architectural element that frames the subject is not an important compositional element as they certainly can be. It's up to the photographer to decide.

The frame is a difficult one. I do tend to try and present an image so that it looks fully finished. I know that isn't everyone's view and I can't disagree with you in this case. I try to match the frame to the subject but I struggled here. A white frame doesn't do it for me either. I have tried it after your comment. If I were mounting it as a print, it would probably end up on a very pale cream board but that doesn't work digitally either. Perhaps no frame at all is the solution for this one.

This is one thing I keep thinking about incorporating into my image postings, but something I generally don't do. When I frame images I still use traditional hand-cut mats, so all I really care about is leaving enough border to mount the image. Perhaps it's something I should try.

Thanks for your thoughts on the subject.

[pnodrog]

Move him up or easier still lower the arch so the subjects eyes come closer to the upper third and you may have a successful compromise of both urban landscape and portraiture.

You and Grumpy happy...

[John 2]

Move him up or easier still lower the arch so the subjects eyes come closer to the upper third and you may have a successful compromise of both urban landscape and portraiture.

You and Grumpy happy...

You see, it takes a wise man to see the obvious. Might just try that John. The PP TIF still has all the layers intact and I would like to try this in a comp or two..