My rejected fair photo

[padrepaul77]

I tried, but failed, to get into our State Fair arts competition. I took a shot with this one. I liked it and was walking around the fairgrounds last year and caught this guy at the end of the fair. He's clearly worked a very hard 12 days and was getting some well-earned rest. The lights are a little greenish I guess; should have maybe tried the flourescent setting? I shoot a Canon Powershot sx10is. A fun camera with some nice features. Was pondering getting an SLR too, but this one does so much and has the big zoom, hard to justify the expense. Thought I'd share it; the arts competition had over 800 submitted and only 100 some-odd photos taken, as they have mostly paintings there, but I did submit it to the overflow show in Hopkins - or where all the rejected art goes ). Any thoughts or suggestions? I put a price of $150 on it (framed) but doubt anyone will buy it at the show as it's a bit odd to hang in a room or something, but who knows.

Thanks!
Paul

 

[PhotoXopher]

Other than catching a guy taking a nap the shot really does nothing for me. The composition is off, the lighting is off and the depth of field is too deep.

Either a hard 12 days worth of work or too many corn dogs I guess

 

[bigtwinky]

I would of rejected the photo as well.

When doing photojournalism, its great to try and get the photos that no one else gets, from the angles no one else sees. However, you have to take subject in consideration and not shoot them in a degrading or embarrassing way. Its a code of ethics in a way (well, one that I was taught).

Showing a fat guy sleeping in a hot dog stand at a fair goes against this IMO. It doesn't tell a story, it doesn't capture emotion or beauty or the feeling of being at the fair. Its just a funny pic of a fat guy in a hot dog stand.

You other pictures posted in the other thread are way better than this one.

 

[padrepaul77]

I would of rejected the photo as well.

When doing photojournalism, its great to try and get the photos that no one else gets, from the angles no one else sees. However, you have to take subject in consideration and not shoot them in a degrading or embarrassing way. Its a code of ethics in a way (well, one that I was taught).

Showing a fat guy sleeping in a hot dog stand at a fair goes against this IMO. It doesn't tell a story, it doesn't capture emotion or beauty or the feeling of being at the fair. Its just a funny pic of a fat guy in a hot dog stand.

You other pictures posted in the other thread are way better than this one.

Thanks for the feedback. Interesting take; my concern was people might laugh at him or something like that (I'm a priest and don't want people to be subject to ridicule). But I actually had feedback from parishioners, posting these photos on my blog, and this was the favorite. Another priest friend said it captures the fair and Americana, and points out that working a fair is tough. This guy has busted his rear for 12 straight days and is drained. But I do appreciate the thoughts...fairs present many chances to get unique shots.

 

[JayClark79]

Is the booth next to the corn dog place called "Big Fat Bacon"? now THAT would of been funny!

 

[padrepaul77]

Is the booth next to the corn dog place called "Big Fat Bacon"? now THAT would of been funny!

Yes, that is the name of the booth next door - but again I don't want people to laugh at this guy. It was taken on the very last night of the fair and it just struck me as unique that he was asleep. For whatever reason those who responded to my poll (I wish now I would have posted them here first) really liked this picture and told me to use this one. Oh well.

 

[Actor]

...the depth of field is too deep...

Why is that a bad thing?

 

[vegasvisionstudios]

...the depth of field is too deep...

Why is that a bad thing?

Because a busy background detracts from the subject. It keeps the eye moving around too much rather then letting it settle on a focal point. With a shallower DOF the eye would naturally go to the point of sharpest focus and then follow the natural lines of the image but with this DOF there are too many lines breaking up the lines the eye would normally try to follow.

 

[padrepaul77]

The depth of field is big, but I think he stands out plainly in the center. I wanted the sign above him; if that's out, he could very well be a ticket-taker in a parking ramp. The State Fair is something unique. I suppose I could have zoomed more and gotten just the "corn dogs" on the window. And when I'm shooting night shots out there this year, should I try the flourescent setting for white balance?

Thanks,
Paul

 

[PhotoXopher]

Try whatever looks right to you... that's the beauty of digital, instant feedback.

 

[bigtwinky]

Thanks for the feedback. Interesting take; my concern was people might laugh at him or something like that (I'm a priest and don't want people to be subject to ridicule). But I actually had feedback from parishioners, posting these photos on my blog, and this was the favorite. Another priest friend said it captures the fair and Americana, and points out that working a fair is tough. This guy has busted his rear for 12 straight days and is drained. But I do appreciate the thoughts...fairs present many chances to get unique shots.

If you are submitting this one, may want to properly title the picture in the submission and/or add a caption that makes the viewer see this as a "working class getting tired" photo.

 

[padrepaul77]

If you are submitting this one, may want to properly title the picture in the submission and/or add a caption that makes the viewer see this as a "working class getting tired" photo.

Yeah, I entitled it "And on the 12th Day, He Rested" as the fair runs 12 days. Originally it was something like. "A well deserved rest" but someone suggested the other title and I like it better. I took a lot of night shots of the fair too in black and white, but thought this was better in color. I'll have to try the "flourescent" setting and see if it is better for lights like the one in the picture.

 

[vegasvisionstudios]

The depth of field is big, but I think he stands out plainly in the center. I wanted the sign above him; if that's out, he could very well be a ticket-taker in a parking ramp. The State Fair is something unique. I suppose I could have zoomed more and gotten just the "corn dogs" on the window. And when I'm shooting night shots out there this year, should I try the fluorescent setting for white balance?

Thanks,
Paul

Hi Padre, in all honesty it is first and foremost about what you like but from a technical follow the rules situation you probably do not want to set it to Auto again in mixed lighting situations where the demarcation between one light source and the other is so cleanly defined. Shooting out side in changing lighting situations like this you may need to change back and forth between fluorescent and incandescent all night. Ideally you would just dial in specific Kelvin temp settings but I would guess your current camera does not provide that feature. The problem with specific presets for white balance is exactly the situation you have here. You have a very mixed light situation here with strong fluorescent light within the cart and then everything outside the cart is lit with incandescent light sources. To further complicate it at someplace like a fairgrounds the outside lighting may change from fixture to fixture. It is quite possible to have several different color temperature incandescent bulbs working against you in one shot. You undoubtedly will encounter tungsten and halogen and possibly even some High Pressure Sodium bulbs in a single scene and they all have slightly different color temps. So it is not unlikely that even if you had switched to the fluorescent preset that you would have still had a color temp issues with everything outside the concession cart.

About depth of field you could shoot this where your guy was the focal point of the image and the sign still in focus enough to be readable and direct the eye to the man. It is everything behind the man that you want to throw out of focus. By shortening the DOF in that way you remove all the unnecessary elements behind him that really lend nothing to the photo plus you create some separation for him from the background

Bobby

 

[padrepaul77]

Thanks for the feedback - it will help when going out there next week. Hope to capture some great shots.

 

[AverageJoe]

I took a take at editing it to bring the subject out a bit, and I also straightened it a little, hope you don't mind.

I couldn't get the color right, would need a raw file or better PP skills. I like this photo but I can see the how some people would find this offensive to the individual in the shot. However, I in no way find it offensive to the individual, he was in a public space being himself. It is what it is. Great shot, next time, take five more from different angles/perspectives.