Paris Metro

[CraigVTR]

I had 4 minutes, before the next train, in which to take some shots that gave me memories of how the wife and I travelled around Paris whilst there on holidays. We walked on to the platform, I sat down down, set the camera to auto iso, opened up to f2.8, sat the camera on my knee and waited till something intersting happened.

When I processed the shots at home today I can see that the composition could be better. I retrospect I would have included all of the archway on the right and cut off the part billboard on the left. What do people think? Also should I crop the top off the first shot to match the other three? Thanks

Click the image for a larger version.

First up a train arrived on the opposite platform.


People disembaked and left the platform.


People arrived for the next train.


My train arrived, I had to depart.

[Remorhaz]

What do people think? Also should I crop the top off the first shot to match the other three?

I reckon you probably do - although probably not for the reason you're thinking.

In #1 I want the train to be blurry but the left of the frame to be really sharp to balance it - however I'm not sure if it's an optical illusion or not but when I look at it my eyes tell me the top left of the frame is all blurry (basically everything above the red stripe) - it's possible the bright lights are giving me this feeling but it just doesn't feel balanced this way.

As a sequence I reckon you could loose image #3 and just have the other three as a triptych?

[Geoff M]

I would crop from the top to remove the fluro lights and balance the bottom so they all matched too. I agree with Rodney on the triptych by leaving out the third image.

The seated guy in #3 looks like he has his thumb in his mouth and index finger up his nose

[PiroStitch]

Prefer the composition of the first and third photos. The second photo, the person on the right being cropped off kills the image. Looking further into it, I really like how the billboard curves and follows the curve of the train. The timing of it is perfect.

[CraigVTR]

Thanks for the feedback guys.
I agree about the second image being a bit ordinary, I will try cropping the top away from the other images to make the remaining three more even.
I was lucky with the timing I got on the trains but am pleased with that aspect of the shots, it was intentional and exactly what I was trying to achieve.

I also learnt during pp to save my adjustments and then load them into the other images so the colours and brightness etc looked the same across all the shots. CNX2 is a pretty handy program.