Friday Photo Critique #9
Friday Photo Critique is our weekly community project, where we publish a photograph submitted by one of our wonderful readers, then ask you all to offer constructive feedback on the image.
After a few days, I’ll update the post to feature the most helpful and insightful comments. You will also be credited with a link to your website or portfolio, so be sure to enter it correctly when submitting a comment!
Quick Ground Rules
- Play nice! We’ve deliberately chosen photographs that aren’t perfect, so please be constructive with any criticism.
- Feel free to offer any type of advice – composition, lighting, post-processing etc.
- You can also link to photographs that you feel offer a great example of this type of image shot exceptionally well.
Without further ado, here is this week’s candidate for Friday Photo Critique!
The Photograph
Photographer: Bimal Tailor
Please let us know what you think in the comments – how would you have approached the scene or taken the photo differently? A massive thank you to everyone who commented last week. The post will shortly be updated with some of the most insightful comments.
The most constructive and helpful comments will be featured on the site, and you’ll also be given priority to feature your own work in a future Friday Photo Critique!.
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I would have tried to shoot this with a faster shutter speed in order to get your subjects good and sharp. The whole photo is pretty blurry and makes it pretty difficult to focus on one thing in the picture.
I think this would have been a stronger picture had you been able to capture the subjects faces with a stronger sense of motion behind them.
I agree with Kevin’s comments – the photo is slightly blurry (especially on the left side of the bike) and composition wise, it might have served you better to shoot from the front or sides, to capture the faces of the subjects.
I think this tutorial ought to be of help – it seems like this was the original direction you wanted to take the shot:
http://photo.tutsplus.com/tutorials/shooting/capturing-dynamic-photos-with-a-panning-effect/
Those first two post hit it on the head. Any other criticisms are mute at this point. You have a great location that is bright and vibrant, but you missed by not capturing a interesting focus. I would also think about the angle of the composition. You must insure that the horizon is interesting and level. This is solved in most cases by using a tripod with a pan able head.
You may also go with a lower angle. I like the idea of blurry, it give us a sensation of movement but it would be nice if the kids were in focus.
Also, the contrast color will work perfectly for this image.
Panning is difficult! It takes a while to get it down, so don’t worry if your first attempts aren’t perfect. I’ll echo what the others have said and repeat that it would have been nice to see the kids’ faces rather than the backs of their heads — a good general rule.
But beyond that, the location is great. The one thing that stands out to me is that it’s so colorful, but for some reason, whether it’s due to your body (or film), the lens, or Photoshop’s notorious issues with color profiles, that’s being downplayed in this photo. It might be worth playing around with the color saturation to see if you can highlight that some more.
You’ve got the right ideas, so all you really need to do is keep shooting!
same with the 1st comment you should have capture the subject’s faces.. and take the shot from a different angle.
also maybe some more lively action for the subjects.
one more thing, if you are not trying a panning shot you should have focus on the stores.. haha..
oh i forget to link this photo
http://www.flickr.com/photos/85625337@N00/1161549396/
There are also two other possible shots that this scene presents.
If instead of focusing on the boys on the bike, you had your focus set on the woman who was walking past where the boys are currently when you took this picture, her face would be framed by the zoom of the bike. It would make for an interesting framing shot.
The other way this shot would be more interesting is to use a wider angle lens, or by not zooming so closely to the boys. Give the bicycle more room in the picture. Then you could center on the back boy’s head and show more of the street behind them as they zoom past the stores. This would enhance the impression of speed through the crowded street.
Since I feel that every picture should tell a story, it’s always good to think about what message you are trying to tell. When you have a goal, it’s easier to see what the picture needs to look like in your mind before you even shoot the camera.
It looks to me that he could have used his flash, and a smaller f stop to blur the background a bit more. Also i agree with the other posts about a little more of the face showing.
Not every time when you shoot a panning photo you must obtain a great clarity, sometimes I really like to maintain a little blur on the subject too.
This is happening in this photo too, I really like as it is , even if is a little blur.
In this sense I recommend you to see some pictures of my favorite photographer : http://www.crosslight.ro/
What I will like to do in this picture, maybe I will desaturate it a little… maybe
looks my work.
http://eminov.info/wp-content/uploads/DSC_0376.jpg