Surfers

[Corey Thompson]

Exif:
Canon 40D
Exposure: 1/3200
Aperture: f/3.2
Focal Length: 85mm
ISO: 100

I took this candid photo at a local surf spot called Trestles. I don't have much experience photographing people. How is the composition? Would the photo be more effective if I shot the front side of them? I shot this in the middle of the afternoon on a bright sunny day, should I shoot at a different time of day? I wasn't sure what to do with the post processing so I did a b&w conversion with a small vignette. Should I convert it back to color? Any suggestions for post processing?

[G'Hopper]

Ooooh, nice shot!

The b/w treatment is perfect for the shot. Composition wise, I would have placed the surfers more to the right - to give them some space to look into.

Not too fond of the vignetting, but that is personal taste. In this particular shot however I feel it does limit the already sparse space for them to look into even more.

It does not bother me at all that there are no faces in this shot. Faces are good, but the shot tells a story without it so it’s not really necessary. You probably would have had a marvellous (but very different) shot had to taken the faces too. If you do take a photo from the front, try to do so without the person(s) noticing or at the exact moment that they notice you. It keeps things natural and/or honest.

The time of day does not make that much of a difference in this photo. It is well exposed and the shadows are not too deep. Usually it's easier to shoot either early morning or late evening because the light and shadows are softer.

Well done on a very nice shot.

[Corey Thompson]

Thank you for the tips and the feedback. I agree with you about the vignette, I went into lightroom and removed it. I like it better without it. I see what you're saying about the surfers being closer to the right. When I shot this photo, I was scrambling to hurry up and take it and was in a hurry to move my camera away so they wouldn't notice, I wasn't letting myself focus on composition as much. I think the more I practice these type of shots, the easier I'll be able to apply these types of techniques.

[G'Hopper]

Careful! Photographing strangers is addictive

[3bayjunkie]

loving itttt!