First Pic

[Bardster]

Just joined the forum after reading lots of the tips and lessons.
Just got myself a Fuji S5700 and learning to use it.
Mostly do close-ups using a light tent i built but caught this guy at our xmas Archery party yesterday and really pleased with the light and shadow.



Hoping to learn lots here so any critique welcome.

[Ed.]

he he - loving the christmas had ontop of his hat! Comedic! Stepping into the world of portraiture suddenly makes photography less controllable as shooting objects in a light tent so congrats and i hope you find it rewarding.

Your first shot - ok i like how you have kept the archery targets in frame giving a sense of context to this man. Sometimes backgrounds can be overly distracting but i don't feel this is to bad in this shot. I also like how you have him stood far enough away from the targets and the trees to gain the blur due to the Depth Of Field it adds - nice.

Compositionally - i like how you have used landscape to take this photo rather than the traditional portrait for a portriat. I do however think this shot could be greatly improved if instead of centering the gentleman you were to position him to one side or the other. This use of space will increase impact around him rather than him just being "there" right slap bang in the center of the shot...

In his case i would suggest left so you follow his eyes out across his shoulder to see what is behind him... However usually i would suggest place the individual to face the space there are times like when the eyes look the other way when doing the opposite can be even more affective.

Interesting shadows in the folds of his coat too add to the feeling of depth aroudn this guy.

Keep up the good work!

[Bardster]

Thanks!, It wasnt actually a posed shot, I was wandering up and down the shooting line taking oportunistic snaps and just caught him right. Composition is something I really need to get my head around. Doing closups in a light tent is so easy in that respect.

[Ed.]

candid can be better as you get the raw real emotion! Be encouraged your eye will get quicker at checking composition with practice.

My advice - don't try to learn it all at once - you only remember 10% of what you read/hear. Therefore - read and learn a little bit at a time taking the time between it to go and implement it. Come back and analyse what you've done. Whether you achieved the affect you wanted or not. How to do it better next time.

Maybe even review again the factor you were learning about and try again to improve upon it. then it will be well ingrained and become second nature with practise so you can look at other aspects of your work.

Bet you knew that already though or had unknowingly done that already with your work in the light tent!