Beginner Portrait - Please critique!

[m7777m]

Any thoughts? I'm at the very beginning stages of my photo career. This was taken on a severely overcast day.

[LeeR]

Overcast days can often produce great light for taking portraits. The light on boys face is perfect. Unfortunately it only occupies 2% of the total image. Photography often has a Zen quality to it; get rid of everything that is not absolutely essential to create something great. You, as the photographer, are responsible for everything in your image. No excuses...ever. Get rid of everything that isn't necessary in this image and you'll have a pretty good shot. As it is, it's just another snapshot that could have been taken by anyone.

[cherrygirl]

Originally Posted by LeeR

Overcast days can often produce great light for taking portraits. The light on boys face is perfect. Unfortunately it only occupies 2% of the total image. Photography often has a Zen quality to it; get rid of everything that is not absolutely essential to create something great. You, as the photographer, are responsible for everything in your image. No excuses...ever. Get rid of everything that isn't necessary in this image and you'll have a pretty good shot. As it is, it's just another snapshot that could have been taken by anyone.

I agree...The van, the fence take away from the cute boy. This is not a portrait...it is just a snapshot of a boy playing. Big difference.

Get closer to the subject and try again!

[lputman]

Hello m7777m, welcome to dPS. Please review the http://digital-photography-school.co...rum-rules.html and adjust your post accordingly.

[BradMinor]

I would recommend changing depth of field to take the background out of focus and zooming in on the boy. You could possibly have done some kind of motion blur with the background if the boy were riding the bike down the sidewalk creating active space.
Create Active Space In Your Photography

[Sime]

Hi, Welcome!!

Cute little fella... I remember my first bike!! Like a couple of others mentioned, there's a lot of distraction going on around your main subject. One thing I do is, everytime I frame a shot I double check around the viewfinder and see what else catches my eye, and if it does, is there a reason for it to be in the photo... If there is and it adds something - leave it in. If not, re-frame your shot and try again.

Look forward to seeing more from you.

Sime

[m7777m]

Thanks everybody for the critiques. I'm going to post my second attempt.