A portrait of a friend, C&C lpease

[Miti]

Hi there, I'd like to know what do you think about this picture...

Canon 550D, EF100 L,f/2.8, 1/500, iso -200

 

[Trever1t]

OK, well cliche aside...

It's relatively clear with interesting DOF but having your subject dead center instantly makes this a snapshot to me. Add to that it's not level (or intentionally exaggerated) and the fact she's so small in the frame, has a funny expression and a bit over saturated.

 

[Miti]

Thanks trever1t for your comments. I am not an native English speaker and worse I'm a beginner in photography. I darkened a bit the background in post. Here's the original cropped.

 

[Designer]

Miti; technicalities aside, I don't get it. This is an odd place for a photo, and I would like to know the story behind the reason you chose to take this shot.

 

[tirediron]

I agree with Trever's comments and think that the cropped version is an improvement. A couple of thoughts I will add are: (1) When you use something like railroad tracks as leading lines, try and place the subject at or near the vanishing point rather than ahead of it. The eye naturally follows these lines, which in your composition, unfortunately takes you right past the subject. (2) If you're going to have the subject looking away from the camera, the image will be much stronger if we know why she's looking away.

 

[Miti]

Nothing special, Designer. Here where I live, Nuoro, Sardinia, Italy, there's a great park and a railways passes close so my nephew's girl friend asked me to take her some shots while she was walking on a railway. Yes it's an odd place to be for a girl to be photographed, I agree.

 

[Miti]

I agree with Trever's comments and think that the cropped version is an improvement. A couple of thoughts I will add are: (1) When you use something like railroad tracks as leading lines, try and place the subject at or near the vanishing point rather than ahead of it. The eye naturally follows these lines, which in your composition, unfortunately takes you right past the subject. (2) If you're going to have the subject looking away from the camera, the image will be much stronger if we know why she's looking away.

Thanks tirediron for your precious counsels. She's looking away to see if the train it's not coming I guess.

 

[sleist]

I agree that a crop would help, but she should be walking into the frame rather than walking out of it:

 

[Miti]

Ha Ha you're right, sleist. Looks better this way.

 

[sleist]

Basic composition. I like what you tried to do with the tracks though. I think the crop I used still retains that flow.
I also straightened the photo. This is something you need to get into the habit of checking. I probably could have gone a tiny bit further.

Keep shooting.

 

[The_Traveler]

A horizontal crop, while keeping her at the thirds, puts her head near the top margin and includes a lot of nothing very important.

Perhaps a vertical crop might work.
Gives her head some space, includes some space to look into and matches her verticality.

 

[The_Traveler]

One could go so far as to upright the subject and move some trees over to fill the empty space.

 

[Miti]

Thank you sleist and the_traveler.