Does it work?

tevo · Mar 25, 2013

I tried to take an environmental portrait of sorts while I was at a car show yesterday. Nothing set up, just a street snap. The guy was selling his chainsaw sculptures, so I wanted to show him surrounded by his art. Does it work?

#1

The Artist by theofficialtevo, on Flickr

tirediron · Mar 25, 2013

As a street shot, it works. I like the composition with the foreground bear and the person in the background. In the context you've given however, it doesn't work at all. When I look at the image, I have no idea who the man is or what he's doing, and my first thought (I always look at the image before I read anything about it) was that it was some guy sitting at a table having coffee or something.

Studio7Four · Mar 25, 2013

I agree with tirediron, that it works as a street shot. The deep black of his shirt and sunglasses do a good job of pulling the eye in amidst all the middle grays of the shot, so even though he is a relatively small portion of the frame he is the focal point. I also like the pose that you've captured - his body is square to the camera, showing his chainsaw-wielding burliness, yet his face is turned (the 3/4 position both creating a more interesting shape than head one and making the image look unposed). It's too bad the water bottle is positioned where it is, breaking up the flow of his sleeve and minimizing the effect of his guns.

But yes, as an environmental portrait it falls short. For me this is largely due to him being so small in the frame, compounded by the large bear in the foreground. For it to work as an environmental portrait (to me), he should be the most important element in the shot. He could still be a relatively small portion of the frame, but the rest should be comprised of smaller elements - say, if he had been surrounded by garden gnomes instead of tall bears and bulky tables. And of course, for a "portrait", interaction with the camera helps (though is not strictly necessary).