Thai cooking

[NilsRagnar]

As they do, in the alley outside the house. Roasting things. The kids hang around to get a bite.
Is the photo too messy?
I'm sure there are a few technical flaws?
Nikon D5000, Nikkor 18-55 (36) , f/11, 1/320s, ISO 800. spot metering

[graciousness]

Originally Posted by NilsRagnar

As they do, in the alley outside the house. Roasting things. The kids hang around to get a bite.
Is the photo too messy?
I'm sure there are a few technical flaws?
Nikon D5000, Nikkor 18-55 (36) , f/11, 1/320s, ISO 800. spot metering

Definitely a few issues here. You have three strong primary colours competing for attention in this image, and they are all items that aren't and shouldn't be the focus on this photo.

I really don't get the busy-ness of this home scene. The problem is that the woman is not facing the right way for this photo. We can't see her cooking. The wall doesn't add any textures because it's so white. The little child is not highlighted enough in this scene for him to be the main focus in this image if you wanted this photo to work.

The question is, if this is outdoors, why is your ISO so high? You wouldn't have needed such high ISO if your aperture was more open (lower f/stop). If you had taken this, let's say at f/5.6 or even f/4 and focused on the child, the chairs and the woman would have been blurred and our eyes would focus on him, as he is the life in this image. It would have been more dynamic if you had kept your focus on one subject in this scene rather than trying to tell all (which didn't work).

Simplify the story you are telling. If it's about the boy, focus your image on the boy. If it's about the cooking, then change your angle and shoot from where you can see her cooking. I understand that you were trying to capture the homelife scene, but you still have to keep the idea and focus simple. As you said, there are too many busy elements for this image to have worked.

You may try to convert this to B&W so that the colours on the chairs and the shirt aren't overpowering the people in it. Add contrast and make sure your blacks are black, whites are white, and perhaps this image may be stronger.

Cheers and I hope I've been of some help,

Grace

[Tajemi]

Wow Grace, what great feedback!

I agree with her, my eye is drawn to the colourful chairs and the woman's back and without an explination I would have had no idea what she was doing. The child is very cute though

[NilsRagnar]

It's great to get good critics like this! Keep forgetting the ISO setting all the time... and other stuff.