Somewhat Film Noir

[Matt M]

I'm involved in a Photography Club at my school and the topic was Film Noir, so this was the photo I used. It's not fully Film Noir, but it's kinda close!

[Winning Post]

Hey there Matt, good to see a nice lot of early postings... keep up the good work.

Couple of things jump out at me with this one. Firstly the lack of focus on her eyes which should always be your main concern with a photo of this nature (ie. film noir, pessimism, menace...) A better focus on her face and a shallower DOF to get rid of some of the brickwork may increase this.

Also a harsh crop around the face and hand to remove what she is looking at/out of will create more mystery.

Nice stuff and keep up the posting!

[Matt M]

thanks! yeah in no way do i think this photograph is great, at all. its totally blurry due to the fact it was very dark and a handheld shot. the one thing i like about it is the light hitting her face

[clockdoc]

Check out the Strobist (www.strobist.com) for some interesting work in "Film Noir."

[wulf]

I think it would have been better with a faster shutter speed. That would have increased the chance of getting the subject sharp and also have buried the brickwork (too regular and modern looking to capture the "noir" mood, IMHO) in more darkness. You could then also post process the picture to increase the contrast and make the highlights brighter, simulating stronger lighting.

Wulf

ps. I know your picture was only just over 600px high but I've had one of those mornings where there has been lots of resizing to do, so I want to remind people that the rules presently say 600px max on the longest side.