She got spunk

[lovelife65]

Yes, I know the rules of not taking photos of the backs of people, but her spirit and clothing led me to want to do it anyhow.
Too bad I also cut off her one foot. Yes, the colors and saturation are strong to exaggerate her clothing


thanks for peeking.

MOD COMMENT
To peek a little less

[Manfred M]

Wow! That yellow really catches ones attention.

The question, as a photographer, would be "does this image work?". Here I would have to say no on a number of fronts:

1. A shot from the back rarely works well. The instances where it does work, the view from the back has to help guide the viewer's eyes into the rest of the image, and here that does not appear to be happening.

2. The position of the fire hydrant in this shot is a bit unfortunate.

3. The cut off foot is not working.

[lovelife65]

Thanks for your thoughts. It makes me laugh and say "you go girl", so on that level it does work, at least for me.
The rest of your critiques are well taken... yeah that fire hydrant is a bit awkward I'll give you that.
In terms of guiding... she and her clothing and gestures are the focus exclusively so where else should it "guide the viewer"?

Wow! That yellow really catches ones attention.

The question, as a photographer, would be "does this image work?". Here I would have to say no on a number of fronts:

1. A shot from the back rarely works well. The instances where it does work, the view from the back has to help guide the viewer's eyes into the rest of the image, and here that does not appear to be happening.

2. The position of the fire hydrant in this shot is a bit unfortunate.

3. The cut off foot is not working.

[Manfred M]

she and her clothing and gestures are the focus exclusively so where else should it "guide the viewer"?

The most important feature of the human body from a photographic standpoint is the face, especially the eyes. Had you shot her from the front, you would have captured those as well as the clothing and gestures and the resulting image, in my opinion, would have been a lot stronger.

[Urbanflyer]

A teacher I once had taught me to focus on what interested me about the scene I was contemplating and to strip away all else.
I think you have an interesting starting place here. Here is what you might try--although it changes the overall feel:

crop in both sides as far as her bags--I even cut off a little of the right bag

crop the bottom to just above the knee--saving the bright yellow pants but losing the shoes--too bad

clone out the hydrant and replace with asphalt

Crop the top just above the neck--my husband doesn't like this last crop--but what it does is focus on the load she is carrying and the wonderful jumble of color and pattern. ( it becomes a torso shot--but aren't there wonderful torsos in museums all over?

finally a little sharpening?

I agree with Manfred that a frontal shot can have a great impact. However I think there are other strong options.

I can post a rough idea if desired.

[lovelife65]

Wonderful suggestions thank you. Undortunately I did not even notice the fire hydrant at first.
I agree there are places for improvement the point of posting to see other thoughts.
Yes I would have loved to get her face in this photo because I believe it would have only added to the story of her wonderful attitude.
Absolutely would love to see how your improvents look and play out thank you for offering.

A teacher I once had taught me to focus on what interested me about the scene I was contemplating and to strip away all else.
I think you have an interesting starting place here. Here is what you might try--although it changes the overall feel:

crop in both sides as far as her bags--I even cut off a little of the right bag

crop the bottom to just above the knee--saving the bright yellow pants but losing the shoes--too bad

clone out the hydrant and replace with asphalt

Crop the top just above the neck--my husband doesn't like this last crop--but what it does is focus on the load she is carrying and the wonderful jumble of color and pattern. ( it becomes a torso shot--but aren't there wonderful torsos in museums all over?

finally a little sharpening?

I agree with Manfred that a frontal shot can have a great impact. However I think there are other strong options.

I can post a rough idea if desired.

[lovelife65]

The most important feature of the human body from a photographic standpoint is the face, especially the eyes. Had you shot her from the front, you would have captured those as well as the clothing and gestures and the resulting image, in my opinion, would have been a lot stronger.

You don’t have disagreement from me necessarily, Altho there are cases where a back shot can indeed work.
My experience is much much less than yours. I’m a fairly newbie amateur. Learn and grow is what I hope for.

[lovelife65]

I’d also dare to throw out there the idea that while in portrait photography the focuses certainly should be on the eyes....that isn’t always true in “urban/street” scenes. Generally not close enough nor always focused exclusively on the face in a street scene. Certainly this capture may have been improved by a capture as a street portrait but not all images of people have to be taken that way. Sometimes the scene in general is what is important, and adding a human element may or may not help.

[Urbanflyer]

Wonderful suggestions thank you. Undortunately I did not even notice the fire hydrant at first.
I agree there are places for improvement the point of posting to see other thoughts.
Yes I would have loved to get her face in this photo because I believe it would have only added to the story of her wonderful attitude.
Absolutely would love to see how your improvents look and play out thank you for offering.

i am working left handed only (shoulder surgery on my dominant side) so my clonimg is terrible, but enough to show you the idea.

20140221-IMG_1698 copy 2jn by urbanflyer, on Flickr

[Shadowman]

Nicely seen and captured.