Mateo

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Meet Mateo. I met him while sitting on a street bench. He is a barber and works across the street. I gave him a business card, and he said he would hold it for the photo. Out of 4 shots, this was the only one where my card was not blocking a part of his face. He also raps, which he demonstrated for me. I would have loved to have made a video of his performance. Comments Welcomed.

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I'm going back to reprocess this. It just doesn't look right to me.

[Geoff F]

The barber sign is a bit distracting but with this sort of real life scene you often don't get much choice over backgrounds. Possibly try a fraction more contrast but tone down the background? Overall, this image looks quite acceptable to me.

[Manfred M]

Consider making a small crop to eliminate most of the store signs. That removes some (but not all) of the major distractions in the image.





Photoshop's Neural Blur filter takes it a step farther.

[Jim A]

My comments are very probably not what you seek, Daniel, for you have captured something in street photography. If I had taken this, then I would have selected him and put a different background behind him. However, that is what I often tend to do - so please feel happy to ignore me. His presence and stance are really great and well worth persevering with!

[lovelife65]

I like the image as is. It’s a street shot not a portrait. The background is an important part of the story. The first crop improves the image tho. Just my .25 cents

[William W]

I'm going back to reprocess this. It just doesn't look right to me.

Post Processing is fine.

I think possibly it would look 'righter' if you were closer and used a wider FL Lens - and probably too, a larger aperture

What camera, what FL and what aperture did you use?

WW

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Post Processing is fine.

I think possibly it would look 'righter' if you were closer and used a wider FL Lens - and probably too, a larger aperture

What camera, what FL and what aperture did you use?

WW

Hello William:
It was very challenging finding this image. I thought it was gone.

Lumix G9
Leica 12-60
1/400 sec. f/3.3 20mm
ISO 400

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Thank you all for your comments. I was offline for several weeks.

[William W]

. . .
Lumix G9
Leica 12-60
1/400 sec. f/3.3 20mm
ISO 400

Thanks.

I am suggesting that somewhere around 15mm~17mm and fill the frame with your subject. That would get the camera closer to the Subject - more intimate, more dramatic.

I expect there's not much wiggle room regarding opening the aperture any further, I expect that it was wide open at F/3.3.

I think it would be worthwhile you shooting this type of Street Portraiture by setting your lens at around 12~14mm and leaving it there; allowing you to open the lens up to F/2.8 and get in tight to the subject. Keep the camera square on and vertical. I reckon that would be a good exercise.

“If your pictures aren't good enough, you're not close enough.” – Robert Capa.

WW

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Thank you, William, for your suggestions.

The original was very wide. I cropped it down to what you see. The original shows a bit of the elevated subway above him and its supporting structure. At the moment of shooting, I wanted to include the overhead subway thinking it was very New Yorkish. Just didn't work out at all. Other tighter shots had his face partly blocked by the business card he held. Not good at all.

I gave Mateo a copy of the image. He liked that the background showed where he worked. I knew he would, but overall the image I feel would benefit from Manfreds suggested crop. Thanks again, Daniel

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M If I had taken this, then I would have selected him and put a different background behind him. However, that is what I often tend to do - so please feel happy to ignore me. His presence and stance are really great and well worth persevering with!

Jim A: I have done that in the past. I don't feel that way about Mateos's image. BUT, if I came across a background that totally suited him, I would try it to create something new. Thank you for commenting, Daniel.

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I like the image as is. It’s a street shot not a portrait. The background is an important part of the story. The first crop improves the image tho. Just my .25 cents

Hi Sharon, I think I would lean towards classifying it as a Street Portrait. They're difficult because of the backgrounds that you find your subject in. If you have them move across to the other side of the street and pose is it still a Street Portrait or did you just find someone to act as your model? Street portraits should be spontaneous with minimal instruction on your part. (That's how I see it.) I think a good street portrait should capture something of your subject. An unguarded glimpse of themselves perhaps.
Your 25 cent investment was much appreciated. Daniel

[oe31]

Consider making a small crop to eliminate most of the store signs. That removes some (but not all) of the major distractions in the image.





Photoshop's Neural Blur filter takes it a step farther.

It seems that blur is tough to achieve in this case; yet, it is feasible to discern the natural appearances with less blur.