Street candid portrait

[lillyanka]

I'd love to get some critique on this shot's composition, and the execution of the B&W. Any other critique is, of course, welcome as well.



Camera: Panasonic DMC-FZ30
Exposure: 0.005 sec (1/200)
Aperture: f/3.7
Focal Length: 88.8 mm
ISO Speed: 80
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off, Did not fire
Link to EXIF data

The rest of the set is here:
Una mañana de "invierno" - a set on Flickr

Thanks!
Lilly

[lillyanka]

65 views and no feedback? Ouch! XD

[BigFuzzy]

I think part of the issue is that there's nothing really wrong with this image, but there's also nothing terribly exciting about it either.
I, for one, have seen a million (it seems) photos of some homeless messy dude on the street.

Not only that, there's a huge bright spot on that detracts my eyes from the subject.

I like that you composed the image this way, ie giving space in the direction that the subject is looking.

The problem with candid shots from far away is that there's no connection, no feeling (at least for me) for the subject. The best street shots I've ever seen are the ones that are up close and personal (even if the subjects not looking in the camera).

In this image, it's hard to make out any detail on the subject. This could be a result of what feels to me as a bit of a greyish conversion. Everything about him has the same tone, and that tone is pretty grey to me. Doesn't mean that's your fault, but it's just the way it feels. It's also not very sharp. Is this a crop of a larger shot?

The background is also distracting, especially the dude with the high contrasty shirt. There's more drawing my eye with the guy in the background than there is with the subject since there' so little detail/contrast going on with him.

In the end, to me, this feels little more than a candid snap shot and mostly because the subject is overshadowed by other elements in the image (bright spot, striped shirt guy) and therefore doesn't have a strong draw to it.

I know it's not the nicest critique, but it's as honest as I can be.

[lillyanka]

It's actually a very constructive critique. Thanks! I actually wish I could have gotten at least a more shallow DOF to separate the subject from the background, but I'm not sure if that's hard to do with my camera or if it's just me, hee hee. Maybe that would have helped the shot a bit.

And I agree, I need to work on my B&W conversions (this is the first time I do it). This is also the first time I go out and take pictures of strangers, so I was a bit (more like a lot) apprehensive of getting to close to people. When I get a new camera I'll try to get like a 50mm prime that forces me to get closer to people; right now my camera has a 35-420mm lens and I find myself zooming in without even thinking about it.

Thanks so much for the critique, it actually was very nice. I'm not looking for people telling me my pictures are awesome, because I'm a beginner so they probably aren't. I am, however, looking for feedback that points out how I can improve, and that's exactly what I got from you.