Faces of Pushkar India #2, C&C Most Welcome

[fotugraphy]

Hi, going forward on my photography venture I stopped and clicked another shot. Can you please review it and let me know what exactly is missing for it to make it much better?

Recently, I have started processing the project which i took last year "Faces of Pushkar, India". He is a musician and plays music for entertaining the visitors and tourists during the pushkar fair in India. I was cont talking to him and i cracked a joke but my face was of the camera as i have already focused and framed. I knew he will laugh on my joke said in Rajasthani Language, Which i know a bit. I was working really hard to capture portraits in harsh light too on that time. i have spent over 3 hours with him and his family and he offered us cup of tea of camel milk.

Please provide your views and suggestion with composition, frame, crops.

Thank You

PS : Please click on the image for lightbox screen view (Highly recommended)

[Shadowman]

Nice portrait.

[rpcrowe]

Nice portrait. However, if I were shooting portraits like this in India, I would use some diffused fill flash.

The best way to add fill flash would be with a hotshoe flash and a small softbox diffuser such as this one...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Neewer-6x5-S...h/192170126779

But another way to go would be to use your cameras built-in flash and diffuse it with something like this. This particular one is for Nikon cameras but there are equivalent diffusers for all brands of cameras.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Puffer-Pop-U...4/400523457404

I always carry either a hotshoe flash or a mini flash such as a Canon 270EX which I use with a small "shower-cap" diffuser like this one...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Compact-Port...s/182347758082

I have a small inexpensive Viltrox flash which would also work in these cases.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Viltrox-JY-6...1%26rkt%3D1%26

The problem with on-camera flash and with the Viltrox is that neither can use high speed sync. You need to keep your shutter speed at or slower than the camera maximum sync speed which is usually 1/200 or 1/250 second. The built-in flash and the Viltrox are low powered but, that doesn't really matter with close up shots of peoples faces...

[John 2]

Nice portrait which I would have been very happy with had it been mine. Might have cropped the red T shirt out though, leaving the eyes as the most prominent feature.

[Dave Humphries]

It is a nice portrait Raj, it looks like you handled the harsh light fairly well, whether that is good processing or use of reflected fill at time of shooting.

I do agree with John 2 about the red T-shirt though - although, simply cropping (to my mind) unbalances the composition, I might have tried to change its colour (in post processing) to something far less eye-catching. However, some might say the colour choice (his) reflects his personality and changing it falsifies the image.

Just a thought,
Dave

[fotugraphy]

Nice portrait.

Thanks a lot for your kind appreciation.

[fotugraphy]

Nice portrait. However, if I were shooting portraits like this in India, I would use some diffused fill flash.

The best way to add fill flash would be with a hotshoe flash and a small softbox diffuser such as this one...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Neewer-6x5-S...h/192170126779

But another way to go would be to use your cameras built-in flash and diffuse it with something like this. This particular one is for Nikon cameras but there are equivalent diffusers for all brands of cameras.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Puffer-Pop-U...4/400523457404

I always carry either a hotshoe flash or a mini flash such as a Canon 270EX which I use with a small "shower-cap" diffuser like this one...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Compact-Port...s/182347758082

I have a small inexpensive Viltrox flash which would also work in these cases.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Viltrox-JY-6...1%26rkt%3D1%26

The problem with on-camera flash and with the Viltrox is that neither can use high speed sync. You need to keep your shutter speed at or slower than the camera maximum sync speed which is usually 1/200 or 1/250 second. The built-in flash and the Viltrox are low powered but, that doesn't really matter with close up shots of peoples faces...

Thanks a lot for your kind review and suggestion. I will surely work on it.

[fotugraphy]

Nice portrait which I would have been very happy with had it been mine. Might have cropped the red T shirt out though, leaving the eyes as the most prominent feature.

Thanks a lot for you valuable review and suggestion. It will definitely looking better without the red tees.

[fotugraphy]

It is a nice portrait Raj, it looks like you handled the harsh light fairly well, whether that is good processing or use of reflected fill at time of shooting.

I do agree with John 2 about the red T-shirt though - although, simply cropping (to my mind) unbalances the composition, I might have tried to change its colour (in post processing) to something far less eye-catching. However, some might say the colour choice (his) reflects his personality and changing it falsifies the image.

Just a thought,
Dave

Thanks a lot for your kind review and suggestion. I will surely work on it.

[RBSinTo]

Raj,
Very nice informal portrait.
With respect to taming the harsh light, you might try what I do whenever necessary and if possible, which is to simply place the subject in open shade, as my cameras do not have built-in flashes and I'm far too lazy to lug a hot-shoe-mounted unit around when I'm outside.
Robert

[fotugraphy]

Raj,
Very nice informal portrait.
With respect to taming the harsh light, you might try what I do whenever necessary and if possible, which is to simply place the subject in open shade, as my cameras do not have built-in flashes and I'm far too lazy to lug a hot-shoe-mounted unit around when I'm outside.
Robert

Thanks a lot for your kind suggestion and review. I wanted to click it in harsh sunlight. But i will surely use the flash too in my next photoshoot.

[Manfred M]

Again, another nice image Raj, but this one is a good example as to why to ask someone to step into the shade. He is squinting and that makes it difficult to work with his eyes. While I understand where the others are coming from with fill flash, I've never had a lot of luck using it with darker skinned individuals as the reflections are far more noticeable. I've tried light modifiers like the large Rogue Flashbender, but even that gave me a reflection from the skin that I did not like.

A bit of dodging and burning will help here, but not nearly as much as in the other images you posted from this series, as the bright spots are so very bright.

[fotugraphy]

Again, another nice image Raj, but this one is a good example as to why to ask someone to step into the shade. He is squinting and that makes it difficult to work with his eyes. While I understand where the others are coming from with fill flash, I've never had a lot of luck using it with darker skinned individuals as the reflections are far more noticeable. I've tried light modifiers like the large Rogue Flashbender, but even that gave me a reflection from the skin that I did not like.

A bit of dodging and burning will help here, but not nearly as much as in the other images you posted from this series, as the bright spots are so very bright.

Thanks a lot for your valuable review and suggestion. It is definitely looking much better after removing the hot spots.