Portrait of a Palm with My Kid in the Frame

[sashbar]

I like it for the light, a hint of a chiaroscuro effect and unconventional "broken symmetry" composition. It may be called an environmental portrait with the main subject (the kid) who is accidental more than staged. The bamboo hovering above his head and the blue cable do not look particularly nice, but I can live with it. And I like the lack of any eye contact which means it is not staged at all and has some casual "jungle" mood. (With the football and the cable, ha ha.) But i am obviously biased here. Anyway, the fact that it is his 3 y.o. birthday adds some family value.
I am interested what "neutrals" think about the image. Thanks.

 

[sm4him]

-- This is NOT what I expected. I thought you meant "palm of a hand" and I was envisioning some weird picture with someone's palm front and center and the kid showing in between the fingers or something.

So, in contrast, I like this just fine.
IMO, I wouldn't say it's anything special, but I do kinda like it. I'd like it a lot more if it were MY kid. I do wish that one bamboo stalk was leaning across the whole frame. And I kinda wish we could see the boy's eyes better.
If it were my kid, I'd definitely keep it. If it were a shoot I was doing for someone else, they'd probably never see this shot.

 

[paigew]

I really like where you are going with this. A couple issues....the light, while I like that he is standing in a 'beam' of light, his face isn't lit well. If you would have waited for him to make one more step forward his face would be bright like his legs/body. I also would have positioned myself to avoid the palm because it is quite a detraction since it is being highlighted (literally) it becomes the focus of the image. If you would have stepped over two feet and shot it so he was still in the light but background was dark I think the image would have a lot more impact. All in all, I love it! I would convert to b/w, flip so he is frame right, and burn the tree as dark as it can go.

 

[sashbar]

If it were my kid, I'd definitely keep it. If it were a shoot I was doing for someone else, they'd probably never see this shot.

Yes, I think it would not be wise to show such image to a client But you liked it and this is good enough for me. Thanks.

 

[sashbar]

I really like where you are going with this. A couple issues....the light, while I like that he is standing in a 'beam' of light, his face isn't lit well. If you would have waited for him to make one more step forward his face would be bright like his legs/body. I also would have positioned myself to avoid the palm because it is quite a detraction since it is being highlighted (literally) it becomes the focus of the image. If you would have stepped over two feet and shot it so he was still in the light but background was dark I think the image would have a lot more impact. All in all, I love it! I would convert to b/w, flip so he is frame right, and burn the tree as dark as it can go.

Thanks paigew, good points. The palm is waay too imposing.. You know, palms in London are like Her Majesty red mail boxes across the pond = rare and exotic. So I could not resist.. It is actually a Palm Center, a shop really. Hardly a forest to say the least.. As for the light on his face, i think it is about right, to much - and it would be overexposed.