Better crop for "minimalism"?

[Oliag]

Hi!
This is the photo I entered for the assignment for minimalism and to help me learn I was hoping for some critique on how to improve this....

First. is it a decent example of minimalism?
Second, would a tighter crop improve it?
Third, is it too bright? How do you get rid of reflection spots if you can't retake the picture?

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/22733432@N08/2226739922/" title="IMG_213411 by Oliag0, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2093/2226739922_f4ecbdd1f0.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="IMG_213411" /></a>

Thanks! Still Learning...

Camera: Canon PowerShot G9
Exposure: 0.2 sec (1/5)
Aperture: f/4.5
Focal Length: 36.8 mm
ISO Speed: 400
Exposure Bias: 0/3 EV
Flash: Flash did not fire

[peeperita]

if in read minimalism as i thought i did.....your submission is dead on.....there's a minimal amount of texture, color, and subject matter to contend with......

a tighter crop is up to you.....this one pleases my eye......

although the reflective parts are a no no to me, the brightness of the image is fine......to avoid those highlights in the future on such highly reflective objects such as this one, i would consider a light tent to diffuse the spots.....or possibly umbrellas to spread that joy around more evenly.....

thanks

peeper

[geotography]

Yes. No. Not too bright.

Love the photo.

Nice lesson on bright spots below from peeperita.

[Oliag]

Thanks for your comments! I guess I was headed in the right direction anyways! Lighting is definitely the biggest challenge for me at this time and I can use all the help offered.

[wulf]

With all those different curves going on, I would be inclined to chop it in half, keep the right hand side and rotate it 90 degrees for more minimal effect. "Minimalism" is a very subjective target but, to me, it also tends to include the subject as a relatively small part of the overall frame.

However, whatever works for you!

Wulf

[Oliag]

Thanks Wulf for commenting! I gave your suggestion a shot just for fun and for learning....

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/22733432@N08/2248200713/" title="IMG_213411-2 by Oliag0, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2299/2248200713_f72aca6fa0.jpg" width="500" height="435" alt="IMG_213411-2" /></a>

[pdaley221]

i think you should tweak the picture so you can distinguish between the subject and the background. Maybe change the contrast a little bit so the wall isnt as yellow as the subject. great shot

[wulf]

I prefer the crop although I agree that a bit more contrast would be good. It would certainly be possible to do that in post-processing but it may also be beneficial to retake the picture (if the subject is still available) trying the closer crop and using lighting to make the background more distinct.

Wulf