composition

[briandee]

Do you find the picture frame behind his head distracting ? what would you have changed/moved in the photo to make it better ? I put the fireplace in the back because that is one of his favorite things in the house.




Camera: Canon EOS 5D
Exposure: 0.002 sec (1/500)
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 68 mm

[lblongs]

I think the picture frame is distracting. If it were me, I would have moved his chair slightly at an angle closer to the fireplace and came in for a tighter crop so the frames were out of the picture and he is more connected with the fireplace. You could still throw the fireplace out of focus but to me this crop isn't tight enough and it looks like a snapshot of a man. I am not a pro but it's just my 2 cents. Overall I like his expression.

[WooD]

The entire background is pretty distracting. The thing in the floor by his knee should have been removed too. You also cut off his fingers.

I'd have also just moved the chair closer to the fireplace.

[cherrygirl]

This looks like a snapshot to me. I think if you were trying to feature him and his favorite thing (the fireplace) you should have incorporated into the photo as part of the photo..not blurred in the background. Because there is so much in the background (and much of the image is background) your effort to tell the viewer that the fireplace is his favorite is not conveyed too well.

[zona5101]

The lighting isn't helping you either. The fireplace is deep shadow on the right and the brightest part is the side of his head. His face should have a little more light. The pose feels strained & forced and not relaxed and comfortable.

[x_eternity_x]

I'm with the general opinion. If you wanted to showcase the fireplace along with him, turn him around and stick him right next to it, keeping it in focus as well. The way you have it looks like a snapshot with insufficient background blur and subject focus. Remember, in most cases what you blur is not the subject of the photo but rather just the background. Tighter crop is usually better. If you got him over by the fireplace and had him squat down a bit you could get a very nice portrait and still showcase the fireplace.

[dblightsey]

swinging the coach around and moving it closer would help also with the pose situation. He could be more relaxed looking. Hey, go set this thing up and show us the results. Im interested in your next shot.

[suprspi]

As usual in these threads I'm going to echo the majority basically. I see what you were trying to do, but here would be my tips.

- move the chair closer to the fireplace. Pull him out of the direct window light and compensate with a slower shutter speed. The window light is beautiful, but there isn't enough of it close enough to put the fireplace in the frame as part of the story too.

-if you move him and shoot from camera left in this image you could use the rock background behind the fireplace to be a background for him that would be less distracting.

- change his pose. I like his expression, but I think that if he were twisted just a little less towards you, with his lower shoulder dropped just a bit more he would feel less "square" and more natural. (Hmm..how to explain - I mean his lower body more facing you so his upper body is less torqued)

- fingers are chopped and the highlight on his face is almost as distracting as the picture behind his head.

- if you absolutely must keep this (I'd like to see a re-shoot with all of the advice incorporated) I'd crop tighter on him down to lower chest level and get ride of his arms completely and clone out the painting behind him. Some PP exposure compensation on his face to selectively blend the bright highlights and shadows would help as well.

I hope all this checklist isn't too negative. It's easy to be an armchair critic - I could show you hundreds of my images that are worse - so don't feel bad at all.