Portrait in Park

[mattjordan]

Hello all, my brother stopped by yesterday anxious for me to shoot him. We drove to a local park and I started shooting. He was very happy with all the shoots, but I feel like something is missing. So if I can get a little critique on how possibly I could improve will be greatly appreciated. I did adjust contrast and exposure within Aperture.

Here is the EXIF:

Camera Brand: Canon
Camera Model: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL 7D
Lens: Canon EF24-70mm f/2.8L USM
Date Taken: 5/1/2011 6:50:48 PM CDT
Exposure Time: 1/40 sec.
Aperture Value: 5.00 EV (f/5.0)
ISO Speed Rating: -
Flash Fired: Flash was attached wireless set to 1/4 power
Focal Length: 45.0 mm

[veritasimagery]

I would crop it tighter, and have him more to the camera left since he is looking to the right. Right now it seems as if he's lost in all the rest of the picture.

When doing a portrait shot, you want the person to be the main focus, and right now there are too many distractions.

Other than that, I really like it. The lighting is great.

Kevin
Veritas Imagery NW

[mattjordan]

Kevin,

Thanks for the reply, I forgot to mention one of the reason for the photo shoot was he wanted photos of his truck. He had some work done on it so he wanted photos of him and the truck also. I did follow your suggestion and I agree it is a much stronger portrait.

Thank you,

MJ

[Stryker]

I would also straighten the image, since the background line is quite inclined.

If he wanted you to show the truck as well, maybe you should have tried posing him in front of the truck, leaning back on it near the right side head light, while you are down on your knees in line with him and the head light, so that both your brother and most of the truck will be in the image. Hope you get an idea of the pose and the angle I mean.

[BigFuzzy]

Hmmm nice portrait actually. Great lighting. Some form of OCF? Well done.

I actually don't have a problem with the horizon tilted as he doesn't look tilted himself and sometimes I feel it's good to cause the mind to go "huh?" every once in a while.

The dead center composition with a pretty standard looking "standing holding camera at eye level" position is not very dynamic, but also not bad.

I would have definitely considered shooting him leaning/sitting on the hood from a higher hangle (standing on a chair perhaps) so as the almost make the car itself the background.

Or, move him away from the car, and shoot him so that the car (either in focus or not.. my choice would be not) is more clearly in the background but not a central focus of it.

Oh, and yeah, the "I'm too cool to be looking at you" pose doesn't work for me too much either. To me, a non-eye-contact image really needs to be strong to make up for the lack of connection with the subject.

Still, all in all, it's a nice photograph he should be happy with.

EDIT: Oops didn't see your re-cropping of it. Yeah, much better!

[mattjordan]

We took tons of shots in a ton of different poses, but because of forum rules I was only able to post one for critiquing. Here are two additional shots. BigFuzzy yes I did have a OCF I used a Di866 with an umbrella that was triggered with a YoungNuo RF-603. I really like the idea of him standing in front of the truck which can be out of focus.

Thanks

[BigFuzzy]

Yeah I figured, just wanted to suggest it in case you hadn't thought of it.

In the end, I like all three and you've done an excellent job with lighting you even managed to control the reflections from messing with the car.

My favorite, in terms of the subjct, is the one with him sitting on the hood. Great connection with camera/viewer. Really don't like the hand on his neck thing.. too posey for a guy wanting to look cool (which he does otherwise).

Again, great series of shots overall. Have you considered bumping up the exposure a bit.. might seem just a tad underexposed.. at least on my monitor here which isn't my home one.

Still, be happy, good work!

[Niresangwa]

Seems people have you well in hand here, but while you're playing with crops of the original, try a skinny portrait crop... the best feature of that image, to me, was the reflection on the hood. If you handled the conversion well, it would be a really strong black and white.

[mattjordan]

Steve,

Good point, one of my favorite parts about the photo was the background. I loved the colors of the trees, water and grass. The sky was quite flat, but oh well. A 'skinny' crop would allow me a chance to enjoy a small bit of the background a little more. I tried a b\w conversion with Silver EFX Pro, I attached. But I have another B\W conversion issue with another photo, I gotta post and ask for help.

Al - I thought about brightening the photos a touch but I thought slightly darker was nicer and it kept the details in the shawdows. I use the hot & cold hightlights within Aperture and I normally adjust so that no parts are blown out or lost in the blackness but I tend to keep things a little on the darker side. I will post larger photos on my Flickr account.

Thanks all for your pointers and advice. I know you can ask 100 people photographic advice and you will get 100 different ways to create an aesthetic pleasing photo.

I do appreciate everyone!!!

[Niresangwa]

Originally Posted by mattjordan

Steve,

Good point, one of my favorite parts about the photo was the background. I loved the colors of the trees, water and grass. The sky was quite flat, but oh well. A 'skinny' crop would allow me a chance to enjoy a small bit of the background a little more. I tried a b\w conversion with Silver EFX Pro, I attached. But I have another B\W conversion issue with another photo, I gotta post and ask for help.

I think its one fo those shots where you could pull two or three distinct and strong images from a single original... definitely something I enjoy playing with when they come along from my own shoots.

As far as this conversion goes, I'm not a fan of it really... there are a lot of greys, and as such, it feels kind of muddy.

If you put up a larger rez image on Flickr, let us know and I'll show you what I had in mind...