An Uncomfortable Teen

[Nicole Hanna]

My son HATES my new camera. Let me just get that out of the way right now. Frontal portraits are a completely unforgivable offense, and I'm forced to find other poses he wont protest.

My question is NOT about post-processing. I know vignetting and antiquing are not to the tastes of everyone, and the audience that appreciates it is probably slim. The stairs were boring, and I was "dressing it up" for my own amusement.

The question is more about the composition of the subject, since posing is my new focus right now. On one hand, I think it's interesting, on another, I think it's completely awkward and makes me want to tilt my head when I'm looking at the photo. It was originally rotated horizontally, which is how it was shot, but that was WAY awkward as the comments below attest, so this post has since been edited with a 90 degree rotation to the right.

Your input is appreciated.

Nikon D90
Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 G
Shutter Speed 1/125
Exposure -7/3 EV
ISO 400

HAS SINCE BEEN EDITED TO REFLECT THE ADVICE TO ROTATE IMAGE.

[Ambrosia76]

It is an interesting shot,but first thing I did was tilt my head to look at it. Have you tried rotating the picture?

[Nicole Hanna]

LOL Yeah, I edited my original post to state that there is also a rotated picture on flikr with this one, but even that one still looks strange to me. Perhaps it's because horizontally is how I was originally taking the shot, and so rotating it seems foreign.

[Ambrosia76]

I like the rotated one much better

[Nicole Hanna]

Originally Posted by Ambrosia76

I like the rotated one much better

It's growing on me. Thanks! I certainly like it better than the original, but something about it still feels awkward. Perhaps it's because I'm so used to conventional poses. Perhaps it's because it's a badly composed photo. I haven't decided. lol

[missclareski]

I think the awkwardness may be coming from the angle... Personally, I keep wanting to lower the angle to come just a hair closer to eye level I'd that makes sense to you. I know the desire to make a unique perspective so I am not saying the traditional eye level portrait is what is needed, but I think just a few inches where you would slowly be tilting your camera slightly more upward than how you originally took this photo would have made a huge difference and perhaps even given a little more depth as he wouldn't appear squished on a two-dimensional plane as much (I know that there are other factors which determine this as well though). I hope this makes sense... Showing this is easier than explaining haha. But I like the creative take on a reluctant model

[dandellion]

I don't like the pose. It makes him stay out of the interest and the eye doesn't have anything else to rest on. Maybe it would be better if there was some context, i.e. much broader frame so we get the situation and not just the person who tries to escape being photographed. BTW, it's natural for teens to avoid photographs. It's that part of the life when we are sensitive about our looks and opening to the rest of the world

Beside all that, the frame is really tight, it looks like he's squeezed in a tight space with not enough room to breathe.

[Nicole Hanna]

Originally Posted by dandellion

I don't like the pose. It makes him stay out of the interest and the eye doesn't have anything else to rest on. Maybe it would be better if there was some context, i.e. much broader frame so we get the situation and not just the person who tries to escape being photographed. BTW, it's natural for teens to avoid photographs. It's that part of the life when we are sensitive about our looks and opening to the rest of the world

Beside all that, the frame is really tight, it looks like he's squeezed in a tight space with not enough room to breathe.

I was bothered by the tight frame as well. I have a kit lens 18-105mm, but hate it so never use it, and I don't have any wide angle for small spaces. I was using a fixed 50mm, standing on a step ladder, no less, otherwise I wouldn't have even gotten all of him in the frame. lol. The stairs were boring so I actually wanted to cut them out as much as possible anyway. If they were stone steps, it might have worked a little better (which now gives me the idea to drag him to the park where there are some stone steps with a nice background lol). Thanks for your perspective. It helps me rethink the environment instead of taking random photos.

[Nicole Hanna]

Originally Posted by missclareski

I think the awkwardness may be coming from the angle... Personally, I keep wanting to lower the angle to come just a hair closer to eye level I'd that makes sense to you. I know the desire to make a unique perspective so I am not saying the traditional eye level portrait is what is needed, but I think just a few inches where you would slowly be tilting your camera slightly more upward than how you originally took this photo would have made a huge difference and perhaps even given a little more depth as he wouldn't appear squished on a two-dimensional plane as much (I know that there are other factors which determine this as well though). I hope this makes sense... Showing this is easier than explaining haha. But I like the creative take on a reluctant model

I think you may be right, and I understood exactly what you were talking about. Shooting on my staircase is limiting because of the architecture of it, but I'll find another environment where I can work on a shot from above, but also from a slightly lower angle. I didn't want him looking right at the camera, but I need his focus to be on something that makes sense. Thanks for your feedback!