My grandson

[The amateur]

A few years ago, I was really into photography. I had more time for it, and I was really passionate about. I even had a makeshift studio in my garage. It wasn't much, but it worked. I had two flashes, an umbrella, and a black cloth for a backdrop.

I would have to take the cars out of the garage, set up the tripods, and put up the backdrop. Then, after I was done shooting, I would have to put everything away. It was a bit of a hassle, but it was worth it. I got some great photos in my garage "studio".

[billtils]

Superb.

[Geoff F]

This works well for me. The skin tones are bright but nothing is over exposed.

[The amateur]

Thank you so much for your comments!

This photo is one of many that I took at the time. I chose this one because it seemed the most spontaneous and natural.

Cheers !

[Manfred M]

Nice image Antonio!

I think you don't need all that space above your grandson's head. I don't love the position of the eyes. They are pushed too far to the camera right and that makes the whites of the eyes really dominate the image, which in my view draws too much attention.

[pschlute]

Nice shot Antonio

I am amazed you got the flash to fire at all when he is holding the batteries !

[The amateur]

Thank you both for your kind comments and helpful feedback.
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I appreciate your expert opinion, Manfred. However, I respectfully disagree about the black space at the top of the head. I believe it is important for the composition of the portrait.

When I was taking these photos, I was not trying to recreate the work of professional photographers but simply photos as a dedicated amateur.
I agree that the whites of the eyes may be a bit too strong. However... it is not that bad this one at least !
-
Peter, the batteries in his hand were the spare ones. The operational batteries were placed on the flash.
-
I rarely follow the rule of thirds or others. I usually just go by my own feelings and I don't think this is wrong.
Out of curiosity, I went to see. Not bad !

[Manfred M]

I appreciate your expert opinion, Manfred. However, I respectfully disagree about the black space at the top of the head. I believe it is important for the composition of the portrait.

My comments, especially when dealing with composition, are just my opinion. When it comes to opinion, there is no right or wrong.

I rarely follow the rule of thirds or others. I usually just go by my own feelings and I don't think this is wrong.
Out of curiosity, I went to see. Not bad !

There is an interesting study done by the University of Jena, in Germany where they found that strong painters and photographers do not use that rule...

The conclusion reads:


"In summary, our findings suggest that the rule of thirds might not be as im-
portant for the evaluation of the visual quality in photographs and artworks as
previously assumed (see Introduction). Evidently, not following this rule does
not necessarily result in images of low visual quality. We can only speculate
why the rule of thirds plays such an important role in textbooks on photog-
raphy and art. Perhaps, like the golden section, the rule of thirds mirrors the
desire of artists and photographers to comprehend rules of artistic composi-
tion. Therefore, it might have become a normative aspect of creating artworks
rather than a qualitative one. The rule of thirds may also help beginners to
endow the products of their creativity with a particular visual structure under
conscious control. Eventually, as artists gain intuitive expertise in artistic com-
position, they may drop the rule, which might be the reason why we did not
find it in high-quality photographs and artworks."

The link to the study is: https://www.uniklinikum-jena.de/anat...14-font-14.pdf


The University of Jena played an important role in the development of modern optics. Ernst Abbe, a professor of physics and optical engineer who invented to apochromatic lens, etc.. Otto Schott, the glass chemist was there as well, as was Carl Zeiss, the scientific instrument maker. The three of them were instrumental in establishing what is now Carl Zeiss AG.

[The amateur]

Thank you Manfred for the useful link !
Cheers !