Photo Critique #144
tuts workshop

Photo Critique #144

on Jul 6th 2012 with 13 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

  • Nikon D3100
  • 100mm
  • f/4.8
  • 1/80
  • ISO 800

I was in my living room and caught the scene of my nephew completely hypnotized, wanting to go outside and play with his ball. It was a difficult time dealing with the strong sunlight, coming from the balcony and I didn’t wanted to move too much to not disturb the kid and loose the moment, but I still think I ended up with a great shot!

Photographer: Thiago Gimenes

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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By

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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  • Ricky

    Great shot, I like it. It’s hard to get kids to sit stay still for a second.

  • Bry

    I like it! The only thing I could say is maybe try a bit wider shot keeping him to the left and including some more of what he’s looking at into the frame, would work both ways this shot makes us wonder what he’s long at. Where as if it was something interesting you could show more… Either way I like it!

    • Bry

      What he’s looking at****

  • http://www.leahharadenphotography.com Leah Haraden

    First of all, I love the message you were trying to convey! You told a story with one image! Congratulations, you captured a very sweet moment! On a technical note, I would of liked to have seen more of his face, especially his eye. You could of changed your position and moved more toward the front of him ever so slightly to get more of his eye from the side of his face. The second thing I noticed, I would of had a sharper focus on either the ball, his hand or his eye. There is a little motion blur on his hand too, not that that is a problem, but just something to point out!

  • Thinkeye

    Great photo. If I may suggest a small experiment: Lower the gamma and increase contrast just so the ear nearly disappears. Keep it balanced and don’t overdo.

  • http://www.e-safeguard.pl/ Patryk Hanckowiak

    If you are aiming at an artistic photo, I think I agree with Thinkeye – darken the left side of the photo to emphasize the face of the child. You could achieve this by using the Levels in a photo editor (or by adjusting the contrast and gamma, like Thinkeye wrote). The highlights on the child’s face are OK, but the highlights on the football are blown. You could get more detail using RAW format, or by spot metering the kids face, which isn’t that easy to do quickly, but you should always try to get the photo on the camera as you want it to look, and not by post-processing it later. If you want a family photo, you could lighten the left side even more (also by using the Levels).

  • http://www.tomwindeknecht.com/ TomW

    Nice photo! I like the use of natural light and the gentleness and innocence of the photo.

  • http://www.flickr.com/photos/rezahp/ Reza

    Great shot…Try converting it to B&W.

  • Bedanta Deka

    Great shot.

    I would have liked to see more of his eye (expressing his eagerness to go out)…………The main subject is the child whose face is mostly covered by the big ball. Showing more of his eye/face would have helped in getting a more balanced shot, IMHO. (I know it’s very difficult to consider these things while composing, especially when you are afraid of missing the opportunity and take the shot hurriedly.)

  • William Borklund

    I like the picture. I would just like to see the bright neck and blue shirt go away. My eye is pulled to that point before I can complete my viewing of the picture. Take it out and my eye would move from the top left to the bottom right and back to the top left. Instead I’m stopped by the bright neck and shirt.

  • thad

    Thiago,
    I like the composition. It makes me wonder, ‘is he thinking about the goal he’s going to score to win the championship’.
    I know this was a moment in time shot and you did not have total control.
    If you could set it up the things that could be addressed:
    Distracting items: inflation valve, squiggly blue markings, left hand blur, multi colored background (maroon fabric bisects his nose), bright blue shirt collar.
    The highlighting in his curly hair is great.
    Your nephew appears to be quite photogenic. I’ll bet you could set this up and get a studio quality shot.
    Keep on shooting.
    Thad

  • http://kaoruk.com Kaoru

    Pros

    • Great light, I love that soft light that is on the kid. I especially love how it defines his face. You also allowed for shadows (with enough detail) to exist, something that I find a lot of people struggle with.

    • Composition, framing is nice, nothing new, sticking to the rules

    • Emotion: before reading your description I looked at the photo for some time trying to decipher what was going on. I could tell that the kid was longing to go outside and play. Or this was his favorite toy. Something that doesn’t really hit you over your head. I think a lot of people would encourage you to go wider to include what he’s looking at, but I like it this way because it adds a nice sense of mystery allowing for the person to create (something people lack these days) in their own head.

    Cons

    • Technical: Could you have opened up a little (aperture)? That would’ve definitely helped with the blur in his hand and the noise (maybe just a limitation of your camera/lens)

    • Angle: I would have liked to see more of his eye, but I know you couldn’t help it, he’s a kid!

    • Emotion: I know that I stated this earlier on as a pro but it’s also a con. Let me explain. This kid is a complete stranger to us all. In fact unless we know of someone who looks like this kid and has the same personality as him we would not create an emotional tie to the picture as you would. At first glimpse I thought to myself, “oh great, another picture of someone’s kid”. So you can tell I don’t have any, and a lot of people don’t. Don’t get me wrong, I believe as soon as I have a kid I’ll be bonkers over her too! It’s similar to owning a cat and looking through a bunch of dog pictures or owning a dog and looking through a bunch of cat pictures. Most won’t make a strong connection to the subject unless they can relate.

    • Pictures have to be pictures: You’re right to think that this is a “great shot”. It has emotion the lighting and composition is good, but what I think it lacks is that it’s not a eye-catching, mouse stopping picture. In a sea of photographs I probably wouldn’t stop on this one to examine it as much as I have. Pictures have to have meaning and emotion, but they also have to be pretty to catch people’s attention. Strip away the emotion you have for this kid and you’re left with a so-so portrait.

    Here are some pictures I just picked out from 500px:

    http://500px.com/photo/5803240

    http://500px.com/photo/3882362

    http://500px.com/photo/3882362

    I salute you for capturing a good moment and emotion =)

  • http://riccio.zenfolio.com Maurizio Riccio

    I like the composition and where the focus plane is. I would prefer slightly more contrast though. I sense that the real light in this scene was brighter. Also I see a green cast that is mudding the image. Otherwise the subject and narrative are nice and draw you in.