Kindly critique

Ankit · Feb 27, 2012

Some shots that I have taken. Kindly give your comments.

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Thanks

Ankit · Feb 27, 2012

Should I remove the watermarks?? Are they diffusing the focus from the picture?

pgriz · Feb 27, 2012

Not a fan of watermarks, myself. However, you asked for C&C. So let me ask you some questions in return. What do you want us to see in each image? Where should the eye enter the picture? where should it go next? What story or emotion or insight should we be feeling or experiencing? What made each of the images significant enough for you to post them?

Ankit · Feb 27, 2012

In the first image I want the viewer to focus on the leaves and then the building behind it. As far as the story goes I took it from my terrace and posted it because i liked it. Nothing else.

The second image is of my brother before we went to the Anna movement against corruption. In this i first want the viewer to focus on the cap which says Main Anna hun which means I am Anna. Anna Hazare is a social crusader fighting against corruption in India and I am Anna is the unofficial motto of the movement. Then i want the viewer to focus on the newspaper. The image depicts a supporter of the movement.

The third image is from my trip to Jodhpur, Rajasthan. I want the viewer to focus on the blue houses as Jodhpur is the blue city and then the beautiful window of the castle. It is a picture of a city in India, that i liked and thus i have posted it.

Ankit · Feb 27, 2012

More info about the Anna movement

2011 Indian anti-corruption movement - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

India Against Corruption

pgriz · Feb 27, 2012

Ankit, here are my comments:

#1 – The plant is obviously colorful, but it is underexposed and the colors don’t show. The bright areas to the left pull away the eye, which is initially attracted to the sharp definition of the plan, but there is no detail there, so there is a visual conflict between the two. The background is out-of-focus enough that we can tell that it’s some kind of house or structure, but we can’t be for sure. The towers don’t add to the image.

The question I have is where do we focus our attention? If it’s the appearance of the plant, then it needs to be more visible. If there is a connection between the plant and the background, then we need to see the connection and feel it. As it is, there is little to link the two.

#2 – The movement that Anna has started is powerful and is inspiring in terms of the number of people that it has managed to attract, and in terms of the promise of reducing the corruption that makes life in India harder than it has to be. Yet, that power is not really conveyed in the image. We can’t be sure if the person reading the newspaper is focusing on the main story, or on a cross-word puzzle. The hand breaks up the sharp parts of the image and does not support visually the link between the person and the newspaper story. I know it is difficult, but as a photographer, you need to lay out the clues for your viewers to get them to read the story that you see. As an observation, it helps us, the viewers, to make a connection to a person in an image if we can see their eyes. Here, his eyes are hidden by the frame of his glasses. Little details, but they all add up.

#3 – I saw the blue, and was wondering what the connection was between that color and the buildings in the foreground. Again, the difference in tone (the foreground is almost a silhouette) between foreground and background presents a visual conflict. We see the massiveness of the foreground,but we see few details. We see the colorfulness of the background, and it’s central position in the frame, but its so … very small. Now one angle that could have worked was if the sky was the same color as the buildings – then you would have had reinforcing elements.