Cardiff RHS show

[marlunn]

looking at Roberts Face in a crowd-2 image it reminded me of one I took a while ago, I dont think i have published this here before - if so my apologies.

I dont normally do people shots, certainly not 'street' but while attending the Cardiff Royal Horticultural Society show in spring this year i noted this lady walking around - she was a person that captured your attention, apart from her demeanor and dress she was so relaxed and un-self concious that she stood out in the crowd. I managed to get in postion to get a long shot of her but not able to clear the image sufficiently well for it to be a clear 'portrait' Interestingly her partner / the person accompanying her was very casually dressed and faded into the background totally in comparison.

I find the colour image pleasing for the rich detail of her clothes but the B & W more pleasing for the 'person' aspect of the shot.

[bnnrcn]

Hi Mark I like both of them. IMO if you blur the RHS of the lady in the color image, it would look better. In the B&W image the RHS is not distracting , but the top part of the image above her hat looks a bit too bright, so I would try reducing the highlights there. If I had to choose I think I would prefer the B&W image.

[Shadowman]

Nicely captured.

[RBSinTo]

Mark,
I think this is a nice bit of candid shooting.
I prefer the colour version as I like the delicate pastel colours in the hat. Depending on your level of post-processing skill, you might try adding a bit of blur to the background on the subjects right, but in my opinion it isn't essential.
However, I'd suggest adding just a bit more contrast.
nicely done.
Robert

[IzzieK]

I like her dress and you lost that in the conversion to B/W...I like the B/W better though...how have I confused you?

[Digital]

Mark, very interesting photo. I like the b/w conversion better.


Bruce

[marlunn]

Thanks Binnur, John, Robert, Izzie, Bruce for the feedback, much appreciated.

Its a tough call - like Izzie I love the colours and detail in the outfit but the B & W helps the focus on the lady, Binnur, yep I need to darken the highlight down in the B & W, Robert, I think I will endeavour to 'blur' the rh side more and see how successful I am, it may take me a while to get anythign that i am okay with but I really was captivated by her and her elegant pose and total unselfconcious style so I will work on this one more.

[Sergio M.]

Well seen and captured, Mark. She does look interesting.

Sergio

[marlunn]

Thanks Sergio, appreciated.

[Shanghai Steve]

I don't know
I think you did well to ge this shot but I think she looks like an umpleasant person. I'd have chosen a different subject

[James G]

Hi Mark. I can see why you went for this shot. I'm don't do much 'street photography' myself but on occasion there's always that one image that intrigues, and I have a go.

I like both treatments, but find myself preferring the colour version. The soft pastels really appeal.
I might have tried a slight soft blur overlay to try and add a 'soft glow' and maybe have tried desaturating the background slightly to put the focus more on what she is wearing.
That said, it is her expression that really works for me. She seems to be greatly interested/engaged in whatever has caught her attention.

[marlunn]

Cheers Steve, not sure why - but thats the great thing about this - its all subjective

Thanks James, it will be marked for more work later as I think there is a good portrait print in there for a club competition, and my own satisfaction in making it what I think it could be.