Night portrait

Ok, another newbie opinion...

I feel the whitebalance is lightly off, his face looks a little too red. It's very close, just off a little. Does his face look that red in real life?

There is a little too much headroom above. Yes, some will say that it adds to the ambience, but IMHO, there is more "action" happening to the right of his head than above it. A small crop, I believe would add a lightly better symmetrical feel to it.

The light near his hip (on our left) seems a touch overbearing... near blownout.

The "wannabe ganster" feel of displaying one's underwear in public is getting old. At least have him wear something a little less colourful... lol.

I like the pic, it shows potential and thought in terms of how and where it was taken. Nice!
 
Ok, another newbie opinion...

I feel the whitebalance is lightly off, his face looks a little too red. It's very close, just off a little. Does his face look that red in real life?

And yet another newbie here, as well. I am looking at this photo and I see no red face at all.. The tones are quite natural. Everyone will see it differently and it all boils down to how well your monitor is calibrated.

I think you could have positioned him a bit more left of the pole so it doesn't appear to be growing out of his shoulder (pet peeve of mine-merging issues). I don't mind the head room at all due to the surroundings , I think it works fine. The exposure is really good, the subject in sharp focus and you caught the light in his eyes.
Overall nice test shots, I can see as time goes on you will improve.

RJ
 
Sagging pants are distracting and ugly as hell.

Anyway, I would suggest not having a car (or a long exposure so the car lights could have a trail, interesting idea) and more bokeh. White balance does look slightly off. His nose is kind of orange. Otherwise I like the idea. Again with the cropping. Try a full body, or not cropping at a joint. Also, attempt filling up more of the frame with your subject.
 
I said a portrait of this type. Is the background in this telling a story? NO! hence less headroom. Got it?

a5i736 i do agree that it could use a little less headroom, it should have been a full body shot now i look at it, im gonna go retake it at some point, but the background is setting the scene and creating the mood of the picture, without the background pic would just be another shot of a guy. You state your opinions as facts and argue with anyone that has a different one, i have seen you do it in several different threads and people keep mentioning things to you... just because youll never meet anyone on here there is no reason to be rude to people. I mean you have just started photography and a lot of the people you are slating have much more experience than you, just because you feel that way doesnt mean your right.

As for things other people have said, yeah i could see when i took it that the car would be a distraction but i liked the location and i couldnt move the car (well i could but itd be illegal!) But if it was moving the light trails would look cool. Because of all the different lights there was a colour cast on his face, i just couldnt seem to get the skin tone right... that is annoying me big time. I did try some closer shots but i just felt this one had more of an impact. Thanks for your opinions! Ill keep it all in mind next time im out shooting at night.
 
I like the shot, but for some reason, I keep being drawn to the bright colors in the background. Like everyone else has said too, I would cut some of the headroom out. I think if the back ground was maybe a little darker and less noisy, his expression would look a little less bored. As far as his underwear being shown, it doesn't bother me too much. This picture is, after all, about his personal expression, and the way he is dressed emphasizes this concept. But with a little cropping and darkening of the background, great shot...
 
a5i736 i do agree that it could use a little less headroom, it should have been a full body shot now i look at it, im gonna go retake it at some point, but the background is setting the scene and creating the mood of the picture, without the background pic would just be another shot of a guy. You state your opinions as facts and argue with anyone that has a different one, i have seen you do it in several different threads and people keep mentioning things to you... just because youll never meet anyone on here there is no reason to be rude to people. I mean you have just started photography and a lot of the people you are slating have much more experience than you, just because you feel that way doesnt mean your right..

How would you know I just started photography? I have been shooting quite a long time now at least 10 years now. I have been to film school (motion pictures) and taken many many photography classes, and have shot extensively in the US and some other countries. Don't assume things. My photos have been up at auctions, people have also bought many prints from me. I have the experience to critique shots like this.
 
lolz... well your experience doesnt really show so much in your pictures... and im not saying you cant critique photos im saying that your arrogant and rude and have been in several different threads, 10 years experience doesnt give you a right to talk to people like that.
 
lolz... well your experience doesnt really show so much in your pictures... and im not saying you cant critique photos im saying that your arrogant and rude and have been in several different threads, 10 years experience doesnt give you a right to talk to people like that.

1) Well I have not posted too many photos on here, with the exception of those Africa shots, which pose a great challenge in itself, so you really don't know my work.

2) I have the right to talk however the hell I would like to talk. What gives you the right to tell me the ways I should and should not talk? Im not talking about people! I am talking about PHOTOGRAPHS you are talking about people.
 
Can you please take it to a PM level?

Thank you!
 
I have the right to talk however the hell I would like to talk.

Sorry. No. You don't.
This is a privately owned forum and you don't set the rules.
And you are walking on a thin line by now.
You play by our rules or you no longer play here at all.
And I say so out here in the open (and not in a PM or via the infraction button) for a reason. The complaints about you are piling up! The many members who have complained need to see that we share their views.
LaFoto, representing the entire moderator and admin team.
 
I think there is too much headroom as well. It allows the pole he is leaning on to draw your eye upwards, but with nothing to push it back down, it wanders out of the picture plane. The eye kind of goes from face to neon sign, up the sleeves and back to face, then up the pole, and off screen. But I can see how you might want to keep that steam in the background. It is neat.
 
I think if your going to do people and this is your friend you should maybe try and bring out some of his personality in your shots. It would be nice to see everything a little more relaxed.
 
I like the pose and the background.
I think what hurts this picture is that the figure is a little underexposed; the sweatshirt and pants have no detail showing and thus the main item in the image is essentially a dark blob with a few details sticking out.

Use S/H to increase detail and he will be dissociated from the background and it will make more sense as a portrait.

boyfixedlo4.jpg
 
before you blow him totally out of the water, this might not make a great portrait, but it is a great advert!

BTW: I think he has the knees in the shot. the pants look deceiving. (3 minute photoshop render!)
 

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