candid portrait

[atencati]

trying to imrove in my portraiture....critiques???

A



bigger
http://www.sierrafirerescue.com/gallery/people/coveralls_01.jpg



http://www.sierrafirerescue.com/gallery/people/blue_lady_01.jpg

thanks

[sirhc55]

Andy - the first shot is going in the right direction but needs to have more focus - very soft IMO

The second shot is beautifully sharp and well composed - the hands are holding the magazines so they become part of the pic. It does need more contrast tho because it is very flat

Keep em coming mate

[dooda]

you could really help both of these pics with some curves or levels I think to make them pop a little more. Some saturation in the second one maybe.

[redline]

hi atencati,
sorry if the comments sound a little harsh but i have to admit that both shots lack interest, it just seems more towards street photography rather than portraiture. to me they just lack character.

first one of the guy i thought it was inappropriate to use a diffusser in combination with the hard lighting, tried and dreaming look?. the thing on the left frame sticking out drew alot of attendtion away from your subject. prehaps a caption for this photo might help? i am a little lost on whats happening in the photo is he smoking after a stressful event or just picking his nose?



the second of the blue lady with the flat lighting with the diffusion filter.
kinda reminds me of bad examples of a passport photos you see on application forms not to use.

Although being candid photos i thought the first was good as their attendtion wasn't draw towards the camera like the 2nd one. I think you should try to "capture" what these people are doing/represent without giving you the "look".

please don't be offended, you can take my comment like a grain of salt

[mudder]

G'day Atencati,
I won't pretend to be skilled enough to critique others' photos so my thoughts are just my ramblings, so toss them aside

Pic #1: The hand takes my eye away from the subject and makes me wonder what the image would be like with the hand cloned out??? I think it would make a very different image...

Pic #2: The first place I looked was the magazines to see what was on the cover, I might be just strange but that distracted me. Also wondering whether added contrast to just the facial area might isolate the subject and draw attention to the main point???

As mentioned, just my ramblings matey... Dunno if it's helpful at all... I haven't done *any* portraiture so I aint talking from experience...

Cheers,
Mudder

[ozimax]

The 2nd photo: The blue hat/dress combo is striking, but I must say that my attention was drawn to the magazine in the woman's hands and not her face. Maybe this should go down as a candid and not a portrait.

Keep 'em comin' and well done, Max