new position at work... portrait type shot

[robertwsimpson]

we just launched a new service concierge position at my work, and I took this shot for facebook, newspapers, press releases, etc. What do you think?


Concierges by robertwsimpson, on Flickr

 

[Trever1t]

It's ok but it does look like you're trying to get too many elements into the frame (car, sign, people, showroom). I think I'd look at cropping in just right of the right fender

 

[robertwsimpson]

are that too many elements? I have some tighter crops, but I didn't like them as much. I actually wanted to get the car, sign, and people in the shot. I'll look at some of the others and see if there are any I can try to like that show less elements.

 

[Trever1t]

I would just crop like 20% off the right, 8x10 format and take a look, may or may not be better

 

[Jaemie]

Nice photo! As a commercial image, in which you clearly want all those elements in the shot (sign, people, car, showroom), I think it works well as presented. The only things that I would change are the poses of the women, specifically the folded hands. It strikes me as unnatural and somewhat submissive (though, granted, that may be the message you're looking for since it's a concierge position). An alternative would be to have one of the women squatting by the wheelwell in a colorful tracksuit, as if she's about to do some laps in that awesome car! And, in that scenario, you probably should get an even lower angled shot.

 

[robertwsimpson]

track suit? lol what in the world? these are supposed to look professional.

 

[robertwsimpson]

I would just crop like 20% off the right, 8x10 format and take a look, may or may not be better

I'll check out that crop... I'm visualizing it and I think I might like it.

 

[Jaemie]

track suit? lol what in the world? these are supposed to look professional.

At the BMW dealer where I bought 2 cars, a couple of the staff and many customers would frequently take their cars to the track. I think it's absolutely professional and a great way to create excitement and drive sales. And, I find a girl in a tracksuit rather sexy, tbh. But that's just my opinion.

I guess I meant to say "racing suit"...

 

[o hey tyler]

IMO, there's too much going on in the frame. I would have got back a lot farther and shot at a longer focal length. There is not enough emphasis on the women in the photo, as they're the new concierge's and that's what the photo is about. If I were you, I'd retake the shot and decide between which element you want to go with the women more. The car, or the business sign. Too much competition for real estate in the photo, and the background behind them is going to translate poorly into newsprint. If it were me, I'd have each of them standing on either side of the car, shot it with a long focal length (85mm+). The reason that I wouldn't use the sign in the photo is because it's not as visually appealing or eye catching as the car. In the medium in which the photo is featured, there will (or should) be mention of the business name and what types of vehicles you sell.

For commercial images, a lot of planning and sketching is needed. As well as what type of output you're going to be using (specifically print media). It would be "OK" for a magazine because of the higher resolution print job, but there will be no definition in the faces of these ladies in newsprint, and the lines in the background would be horrendous.

 

[Derrel]

The sign is facing out of the photo, and is really dominant/prominent. The women look nice, from what little I can see. The car looks very sleek and nice. I like the palm tree reflection in the windows, and I do like the showroom car posters, but overall, I think the aspect ratio is too wide...and the top of the frame shows a lot of lights and glass...meaning, a lot of empty space. My gut feeling is to bring the women closer to the camera, and make them larger in the frame. As web counts from galleries will prove over and over and over, an attractive female's image will draw ten times as many clicks as say, an inanimate object.

I think maybe a better idea would be to move the camera position far to the left, and have the women closer to the camera than the sign, and then place a car with the front bumper pointing AT the women. Of course, that would mean moving the car, but that's a simple maneuver. The end result would be to show these two women, looking attractive. As-shown, they are just too small in the frame for the display size you are showing us here. The lighting looks very good!!!

 

[Frequency]

I think there are only three prominent things The car, the models and the company name; The face of the car could have been more to the observer and the models could have been placed on the other side showing their upper half only and at the same time the car is in full view; this image has the problem it projects the models as if they are showing the new car they have just purchased, making the car a secondary subject

Regards

 

[robertwsimpson]

thanks for your comments everyone! I'm going to use the image as is this time, but you've given me lots to think about next time. I was really concerned with the lighting, since I had never used off camera flashes with stands before this. I guess I neglected stuff that I think about in normal shots.