Candid Shot Question

[Holly]

HI all!! I have a question.. Someone else saw my question and they pointed out some things to me.. IM curious to know if you thought about these too when looking at my photo

Picture is here -

http://thephotoforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=48333
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HER COMMENTS

his hand is disconnected and disconcerting.

The diagonal white in the lower left doesn't make sense.

The shadow and the curve of the chair are distracting. As are the curly frame.

his eyes are very piercing, and disconcerting. Study the catchlights in the pictures that really grab you. They are usually shapes - not white dots. Did you use a flash??

The image leaves a confused and disconcerting feeling with me.

You did a great job of focusing on the eyes. This may have been a better picture without as close a crop as you did.

Your conversion is very good.

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Curious to know your thoughts too... Do you feel the same way this person feels? Was she to strong or Right on??? Does this really need that much improvement???

 

[Azuth]

Holly,
Honest and open constructive criticism is hard to find when you're looking for it, it looks like perhaps you found it when you weren't.

So;
Hand: Agree
Diagonal line: Agree
Shadow, chair, frame: Somewhat, somewhat, agree
Eyes (catchlights): I can see the point but I think they're OK.

The image doesn't leave me confused, and as a candid shot I think it's fine. If a professional photographer shot it as a portrait, knowing what I know I probably wouldn't be 100% happy with it due to the above comments.

I didn't check who gave you the comments, but they're doing you a service in terms of your photography. They're not clouded by A) Taking the picture, B) Their relationship to the subject matter.

 

[Holly]

Thanks!! I was looking for CC... Just didnt think there would be that much said knowing it was a *Candid* shot... For a more professionaly looking photo I figured this isnt something I would do (For myself) Or someone else.. This one was done for fun.. I like to hear the CC Because it helps me better my photos.. NOT candid ones per-say, but the more professional ones.. I hope that made sense..

Thanks for your honesty!

 

[Alpha]

I'd like to add that I think the tonal range in the photo is really quite narrow. I'm not sure if that's coming from your camera or from the b&w conversion itself, but composition aside, i think the photo would look much better if you were to tweak the levels some (though ideally you want good tonal range to be part of the photo, not something one tries to create during post-processing).

 

[Hertz van Rental]

I've moved this to the Crit Gallery for obvious reasons.

The first thing to establish before asking for a crit - or indeed considering a crit that you have received - is: what was your intention when taking the picture?
Until you have some idea as to what you were trying to do/hoping to achieve any critique is meaningless.
If I give a crit on this image with no input from you then all I am doing is telling you how I would have taken the picture.
If you take the advice of a crit without comparing the critic's intention to your own original one then you will just be trying to take the critic's picture.
Photography considered as an Art or hobby is essentially about self-expression. That means taking your own pictures.
What you should do is to think about what you wanted the picture to show, then express it as best you can in words - and ask if we think the picture does what you want.
It will also put you in a better position to decide if the picture does what you want - and ask pertinent questions based on your assessment.


(I would get rid of that frame, though. It dominates the picture and fights for your attention. Not a good thing to have happen).

 

[Holly]

Thanks!

My intentions of taking the photo! Just to practice some closer up shots.. And to get MORE photos of my lovely child! He likes to move around and NOT sit still.. SO while he was I just snapped away...

Was I Aiming for Professionaly or awesome looking photos?? Nope.. They were all pretty much just snap and shoot.. Try to take as many as could and test the shutter... practice is all it was...


(Tweaking Levels) - Which levels should I be tweaking?? Contrast? Brightness? b oth?