Passion....

[Art]

Hi all, this sculpture is located in the sidewalk of the seafront, in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico. They really look in a passon scene, don't they?

It was taken w/o tripod


Can you please critic composition?

Thanks Art


Exif Version=0221
Maker=Canon
Model=Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XT
Software=Adobe Photoshop CS3 Windows
Color Space=sRGB
Scene Capture Type=Standard
Exposure Mode=Auto Exposure
Shutter Speed Value=1/4 Second
Aperture Value=4.64
Flash=Off
ISO Speed Rating=ISO656960

[wal]

Nice pic and the exposure and tones brings up the mood. But i feel this pic kind of incomplete. I'd try and take the full sculpture on the left if possible, maybe try at a lower angle perhaps.?

[Art]

Thanks Wal for your comments, I will go back to take it full frame
Art

[SriMesh]

I love your take on this sculpture, from choices of many angles which I can imagine that an observer must have of this sculpture, you have found a very interesting capture to enhance the passion between the two characters.

I realise you wanted critique on composition, but I couldn't see the composition very well in the dark image.

If you don't mind, I played with levels a bit in photoshop. I duplicated the background layer and added it with screen overlay, then, using a vector mask darkened every single area which was bright, and retrieved the dark background. I left the brightening in the areas which were previously dark, then flattened/saved. I repeated three times this process...now the larger statue has more visible features. The face was underexposed, and the arms overexposed, but I could not do much about the overexposure, except keep those areas as dark as in the original. A better way to do this is when you are photographing in the field use several different exposures supplemented with different EV (exposure values), with flash and without flash, then layer them in photoshop when there is a large depth of field with various lighting opportunities, then vector mask out the ones / areas you like the best. Perhaps on a tripod with a longer exposure would also help and be one of the choices used. It is a challenging statue, but very lovely, and the dark background helps to not have any distractions.



Now that I can see the image ;-), it is interesting that there is more negative space on the right side of the woman as compared to the left side of the man, It places her more on the left third of the photo, and along with the man's arm, helps to draw attention to her, than if you would have centered both characters. I see that you used the base of the lady for the bottom edge of the photo, which helps provide a leading line over to the man, and then the diagonal arms provide a good flow into the photo and around to the lady. I did add some height to the background of the image to help the focal point of the picture, the top of the lady and place the lady's top on the upper rule of thirds rather than at the top of the picture. As the eye does focus on the junctions of the rule of thirds, unless that is how you wanted your composition to focus. The additional height does not do much for the ratio which is now at 1.4...rather than the original 3:2 1.5 or use a conventional 4:3 or 16:9

[SriMesh]

Well after that, I thought I would add some levels to the white areas, which is usually greys, and then convert to black and white or sepia, and all would be well.. I chose b&W then added sepia tones. Except I framed it. And then I found out something. I agree with the previous poster regarding composition, that more needs to be added to the gentleman's statue if possible, as it looks like he is drowning, and reaching a hand up to be rescued.

[Art]

Hi Srimesh, you did a good job!!! and interesting explanations, I really appreciate it
I like the framed one, looks very nice
I just have to ask you for one favor, please do not post it out of DPS, I clicked on the pic and I was sent to Flickr
Thanks Art

[SriMesh]

I will delete it off flickr (Done, tis done and gone). No problems, I did credit yourself as the photographer, but I was truly wondering about this, as photography is so visual, how to communicate the back and forths.. I do not know how to post directly on the digital photography school web site. When reading about how to post images to DPS, they say to employ the services of various photo hosting services and then copy and paste their URL's into DPS. Posting Pictures from Photo Sharing Sites (A visual guide) There are no instructions... which I have found...how to post to DPS gallery....

[Art]

Thanks SriMesh, I really appreciate it,
Regarding posting directly, normally I post as attachment, since I do not use external photo hosting.
When you are creating a new thread, there is a clip icon on the top of the dialog box which allows you to attach the pic in several formats.
Hope this helps
Thanks Art