focusing on the eye....

[jax314]

A tight crop, sharpen, black and white (auto contrast) except for eye....no color adjustment on eye...

I'm trying to do something besides regular shots and explore a bit of creativity...

Does this composition work? Any adjustments?

Thanks,

Jaxon






Camera: Nikon D3000
Exposure: 0.006 sec (1/160)
Aperture: f/4.2
Focal Length: 85 mm
ISO Speed: 100

[zona5101]

It is an interesting image and you have effectively applied some nice post processing. For me it doesn't do a lot - mainly because the treatment and cropping don't seem to fit a child... they are more like how we view ourselves as adults and the dicotomy and decisions we face...the seriousness of life, edgeiness... not so much for a little guy... but in the same breath, i am sure there are those that will dig it!

[jax314]

I like this one better......BUT, the eye is not natural whereas it is in the first one...but i think the composition is better. I think this gives more of a feel of "Be careful what you do because my innocent eyes are watching you...."

Maybe not...

[lputman]

I am a fan of neither of the shots but if I had to choose, I'd pick the first one mainly because it is softer. I agree with zona5101 in that it is not befitting of a child. The second seems overly sharpened.

[jax314]

So...are you guys more for this kind of shots then?? Again, with the others, I was just trying something I don't normally do....guess it didn't work like I had hoped!!

[Niresangwa]

I liked the initial crops you did. I think when printed and framed it looks way different than it does on the screen, so don't give up on it. just don't solely rely on that composition for creative punch

You may also consider using a crop like this in a bi-panel tryptich with a more traditional shot, which I find to be a powerful combination.

I don't like the selective coloring however. It has it's place but in this instance reminds me of The Terminator. The blue with the monochrome is too cold and metallic. I assume thats not what you're looking for.

[Leumas]

Did you try with no black&white?

I tried this kind of composition and approach, shared my shots on a website and people like them. I did with a teenager though.

I think the problem, as mentioned by previous forum members, is that the subject is a child. And the eye<->background contrast is too hard.

If you want I can post my photographs here so can take a look at them.

Regards.

[jax314]

I have not tried without black and white yet..I'll try it and see what happens. Sure, I would love to see what your pictures looked like......

I understand the concern about the subject being a child...at the time, I didn't think that would be an issue...I need to learn more about how to compose BASED on my subject...

Thanks.

[jax314]

Here is a crop from the original photo used to make the second image....

[Leumas]

Ok, here they are. Hope you like them. What I did was:

- Darken the background;
- Blur the background;
- Light the face, mostly the eyes;
- Increase face and eyes sharpness.

Maybe for children, full and bright face, dark and blur background it's better. Nice reflection on the eyes is the key. Uploaded the third image as an example.

From the first two I prefer the first one, because it has less dark shadows, but it kinda becomes too fake. But I like it.