Photo Critique #118

Photo Critique #118

on Jan 6th 2012 with 10 comments

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. It’s a great way to learn more about photography, express your viewpoint, and have your own image critiqued!

Quick Ground Rules

  1. Play nice! We’ve deliberately chosen photographs that aren’t perfect, so please be constructive with any criticism.
  2. Feel free to offer any type of advice – composition, lighting, post-processing etc.
  3. 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

Photo Details & Inspiration

  • Pentax K-5
  • 50mm
  • f/1.4
  • 1/60
  • ISO 100

I was at a New Year’s Eve party in Thailand because I didn’t know the language I mostly took photos. I liked this one because the subject is apparently unaware of me snapping the shot and manages to create an atmosphere New Year’s Eve worthy.

Photographer: Linus Karsai

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 most constructive and helpful comments will be featured on the site. Interested in submitting your own photo? You can do so here!

 
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Rollover to read this author's bio or click through to see a full list of posts by this author.

I was raised in the suburbs of Cincinnati, Ohio. After high school, I left for Western Kentucky University where I obtained degrees in photojournalism and cultural anthropology. I am currently employed by CityBeat, an arts and entertainment weekly in Cincinnati. The work I am doing here is very rewarding and I suspect it will continue to be. I am available for freelance work in all areas of photography.  

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  • http://think7photo.com Bob Pease

    There is a small green dot over the man’s face. I’ve seen this in my own photos, often a reflection on a filter as I usually use a filter. When shooting at night I remove my filter to prevent this.

    I like the composition but wish the phone was more clear. It kind of blends in with the girls head so at first glance it’s hard to see what exactly is going on. But I think the photo is strong for the same reason you like it – the subject are oblivious to your presence.

  • http://www.flickr.com/photos/vijayforvictory/6480846909/lightbox/ Vijay

    + Composition
    + Bokeh effect

    - Dot on the boys face
    - Both are slightly out of focus; where as the phone and the girl’s hand in focus

    I like the photo. Cool one.

  • http://www.blackandgeauxld.com Geovanni

    I love the image. My only question would be…what is the story? I can tell the focus was on her hand/phone and not their faces. So is the story the cool way they photographed themselves or the fun this couple was having?

    Other than that…I love how the captured the lights, blur, fun, and just the beautiful moment.

  • writersbloc

    Unless I read your comments I would have thought you knew this couple or they knew they were being shot by you and wanted to be clever by covering their faces with the phone. The angle doesn’t give the candid feel you were going for. The focus is on the phone but it’s not really important enough in the hierarchy of the image to warrant that selective DoF- wish the couple was in focus instead.

    Forcing the 100 ISO in a night shot seems excessive, and I’d would have opted for a faster shutter- but that’s more your call.

    I think this photo would have worked a lot better with a different angle and a much longer lens to give it a more intimate feel.

  • Tom De Smet

    Apart from the green dot, which I agree with Bob Pease should’ve been removed, I think the picture could benefit that the two people would be in focus, as they should be the subject of this picture (as was your intention).

    Now the subject seems to be the phone, which is hard to see on the picture because it blends with the girls hair and it’s a dark colored phone in a very lively picture with bright colours.
    So my eye wasn’t drawn to the subject, but to everything around it, which is all out of focus and screams “I’m not the subject”. But the phone which is in focus is hard to find and should actually be out of focus too or in focus together with the people.

  • http://www.jayjerkinproductions.com Jason Freeman

    I like the mood of the couple you were able to capture. One thing I would say is that the focal point that captures me the most is the girls hand because it is the clearest on my screen. The expressions on the faces seem to be more blury like the background. But It may be the fact of the depth to field that the hand is the most clearest. Also the green dot takes a little away from the image as well. But other than that, its a nice capture.

  • EHarden

    My personal preference for focus would have been to try to get the sharpest focus on their faces. As it is, it seems the woman’s hand holding the camera is the sharpest focal point

    I also find that when I just look at the photo, the dark tree trunk circled in light is really what my eye is drawn to the most. And maybe that is fine with the overall idea of getting the theme of the lights and the holiday. But a change in angle might have brought more attention to the couple while still letting all the lights create the atmosphere of the photo.

  • http://digitalwhims.com Denny Weigand

    I have to say that this is a failed image, both focus wise and compositionally. The image is so active that the viewer has difficulty understanding what the photographer is saying. The subjects are out of focus and the background is so active that you don’t know where to look. The phone is blocking the face of the woman and the man has artifacts on his face. A longer lens may have pulled this one out of the fire but I doubt it. By backing off a little the subjects might not have cut off arms. I simply have trouble finding anything constructive to say on this image except that it might have sentimental value to the maker. 1/60 in low light caused the out of focus problems…kicking up the ISO to 600-1000 would have allowed the shutter speed to be greater than 1/60 (maybe 1/125) and allowed the action to be stopped and the camera shake abated. There is no significant noise at higher ISO’s in the newer digitals. Even exposure compensation would have helped…Oh Well….

  • Vikas Sachdeva

    When i saw image for the first time, my eyes went straight to that tree with light wrapped around it.
    I know its blur but still its the first thing which i noticed and after that my eyes went to couple then Phone.
    its a bit confusing composition.
    though i like the Bokeh effect
    Rest keep it up :)
    No one perfect :)
    God Bless

  • nynawee

    lovely composition! the horizontal and vertical lines of the chain of lights guides the viewer’s eyes directly to the main subject.

    two things:

    - i definetely would have focused on the faces and not on the hand/phone.
    - try to use ISO 160 (or a multiple of 160) the next time: less grain and therefore better results, especially in low light conditions.