C&C Please: "Temptation"

OrionsByte · May 28, 2011

Please look at this photo and tell me:

Did you get what I was going for?
Did I pull it off?
What could I have done differently or better to communicate the tone and story more effectively?

Shot details:
f/11 1/250 ISO200
Bare SB-600 camera right at 1/4 (I think) about 4-5' from subject

SrBiscuit · May 28, 2011

I like the shot...a LOT.
However, I'm just not getting "temptation" from it. I fail to see what is tempting the subject...perhaps it's just over my head.
I get "tension".
Lower right of the frame...is that the corner of a bed? If so, that certainly helps, as it takes my mind to being tempted by taboo act in bed, whether it be infidelity (hardly taboo anymore, however) or an orgy with goats...
Is there something that you could add to help nail the story a bit more, or are you looking to keep it a bit more obscure?

I do like the shot though, man. Very emotive.

OrionsByte · May 28, 2011

Yeah, that's a bed in the corner, or more specifically, the reflection of the bed. In some of the shots I tossed a bra on that corner of the bed but those didn't grab me as much.

Netskimmer · May 28, 2011

Look, we all get the temptation to wear women's undergarments but you just have to fight the urge!

Kidding aside, I was kidding you know...really. I really like the shot, If someone asked me to associate a word with that photo temptation would have been one of my first thoughts.

My eyes immediately focused on you then I saw the reflection as if you were struggling with yourself and then I saw the bed which tied the whole thing together.

Very cool.

SrBiscuit · May 28, 2011

Well then, I think you accomplished what you set out to do. Placing various items might just be a little too much...maybe letting the viewer draw their own conclusions is the way to go. I know I'm being nitpicky at this point, but I scrolled up again to look, and although I got the whole bed thing, I still can't help but wonder if at least the setting was a bit more telling...like a seedy hotel, or something to give off the sex vibe a bit more without being gratuitous. idk.

OrionsByte · May 28, 2011

Netskimmer said:
Look, we all get the temptation to wear women's undergarments but you just have to fight the urge!

that was one of the reasons I didn't like the bra in the shot... it was a little too "specifically vague".

Netskimmer said:
Kidding aside, I was kidding you know...really. I really like the shot, If someone asked me to associate a word with that photo temptation would have been one of my first thoughts.

My eyes immediately focused on you then I saw the reflection as if you were struggling with yourself and then I saw the bed which tied the whole thing together.

Very cool.

I'm glad you liked it, thank you for the compliments!

SrBiscuit said:
Well then, I think you accomplished what you set out to do. Placing various items might just be a little too much...maybe letting the viewer draw their own conclusions is the way to go.

That's what I was going for yeah; some mystery, basically. What's this guy so anxious about? BTW if you're getting "tension" from the shot, I think that's a perfectly valid interpretation.

SrBiscuit said:
I know I'm being nitpicky at this point, but I scrolled up again to look, and although I got the whole bed thing, I still can't help but wonder if at least the setting was a bit more telling...like a seedy hotel, or something to give off the sex vibe a bit more without being gratuitous. idk.

I thought of a few things while I was deciding how to do the shot, but I dismissed them all for some reason or another. Mostly I was trying to keep the shot simple - it was difficult, with just one strobe, to get the light that I needed on myself (without overexposing) while also getting enough light on the bed for it to reflect in the glass, so I didn't want to try to bring other elements in to play that I'd have to balance as well.

I agree with you though, in that if there was some small touch to push the viewer just a teensy bit in a specific direction, it might sell the idea more.

Incidentally, here's a color version where I tried a little split-toning to put some red in the shadows to try and bring in that extra contextual clue. I also desaturated it just a tad. I still like the black-and-white version better.

misstwinklytoes · May 28, 2011

As a woman who's been cheated on, I don't like the photo. As a photographer I can appreciate that I don't like the photo because you were successful in your attempt to portray temptation. Congrats and nice work.

Bitter Jeweler · May 28, 2011

I don't get temptation.

I see guilt and regret.

If you are in the bedroom, your are WAY past the temptation part. LOL

OrionsByte · May 28, 2011

Bitter Jeweler said:
If you are in the bedroom, your are WAY past the temptation part. LOL

Bitter Jeweler · May 28, 2011

"Oh gawd, what have I done"

OrionsByte · May 28, 2011

And actually, when I was shooting this, the moment I had in mind was either that, or, "Oh gawd, what am I about to do?" Works either way.

Christer · May 28, 2011

At first I thought it was a "cheer", as if his favorite team scored.
Then when i tried to see it through the "Temptation perspective" i thought he was thinking of shooting up... But if that was the case, he should maybe have had a belt tightened around his arm.

That said, I do like the photo, in this case, the picture says a lot more then a thousands words.

flyin-lowe · May 28, 2011

Won't lie, my very first thought when I saw the shot was a guy getting ready to stab his wife. I work with criminals all day so I tend to see the worst case scenario.

OrionsByte · May 28, 2011

So based on those last couple comments, is the reflection not visible enough? That's the only hint that there's a surface there, and without that I can definitely see these other interpretations, but not otherwise...

Christer · May 29, 2011

His face looks to serious for a "cheer", which is why my first analysis was discarded. To me it looks like he's looking at his arm trying to find a vein...