Antiqued Image of a Waitress

[psykon99]

I thought I posted this already, but I can't seem to find it - so here it is again.

What are your thoughts on
1. The image itself?
2. The antiquing?

[IMG][/IMG]

[crazzy88ss]

Putting in the fake scratches is stupid to me. It's too distracting. I find my eyes going back to the scratches.

If you were able to remove them, I think it would be a lot better. The rest of the antiquing process is good.

[spellbound]

You seem to have a thing for this subject

[jiminyClickit]

psykon99

Scratches are a part of antiquing, tutorials nearly always suggesting how-to. The story behind the huge blurred head on the left would help in understanding the photo. The subject is depicting a scene that doesn't lend itself so much to being old, but the processing is good.

[Matthew James Norman]

To me the image only looks grainy and shot in low-light rather than aged. The chap's face on the left detracts from the main subject also I feel, as does that block of light to the right of the girl.

[psykon99]

Originally Posted by jiminyClickit

psykon99

Scratches are a part of antiquing, tutorials nearly always suggesting how-to. The story behind the huge blurred head on the left would help in understanding the photo. The subject is depicting a scene that doesn't lend itself so much to being old, but the processing is good.

Here's the original - before the antiquing. I was at the end of a table with a 50mm prime lens, so zoom wasn't an option. I actually like the look through the head and hands to her. I think when that's combined with the look on her face it's kind of like a "stop moment." Maybe the antiquing is distracting from that? I know it's not a technically accurate composition though.

[Geaux]

I think the effect of the antiquing really captures the mood on her face. It makes me think there is a sad story behind her expression. I like it.

I didn't notice the scratches until reading crazzy88ss's post, but then they did become very obvious.

Question - did you use a flash? I'm trying to get comfortable shooting people in public, but having to use a flash scares me off.

[kimspics]

i like the pic- it tells a story - I would have not said it was "stupid" to put the scratches on it though. ( stupid is such a strong word ) I really like it it makes a person stop and ask Hmmm? scale of 1-10 , I rate this a 5 1/2

[psykon99]

Originally Posted by Geaux

I think the effect of the antiquing really captures the mood on her face. It makes me think there is a sad story behind her expression. I like it.

I didn't notice the scratches until reading crazzy88ss's post, but then they did become very obvious.

Question - did you use a flash? I'm trying to get comfortable shooting people in public, but having to use a flash scares me off.

No flash involved. I used my 50mm f1.8. It was somewhere between 1.8 and 2.8. I'll have to look up the exif. I got her to pose later on. I'll have to post that one.

I usually get a little nervous about asking people to pose or if i can take their pic, but I had a little help from a certain fluid/chemical that night...

[Atlas88]

The EXIF data from flickr shows this was shot at a 1600 ISO. I'm curious if you applied any denoising to the image before resizing it down? I ask as the original looks very clean. Of course downsizing to such a small size will also have that effect as well...

I like how the image is framed and actually prefer the original to the antiqued version. There are a few things that distract the eye however. Perhaps you could desaturate the colours in the foreground somewhat? The blue on the persons sleeve on the right and the man on the left. Also the white rectangle in the top right of the image is very distracting on both images. I would choose to clone that out.