4 from Jack

Jack'll do

Some of these have previously been posted in color. Comment/critiques appreciated.

richtersl

#1 is a winner. The central composition works in this instance, IHMO. The woman behind the sign is a little distracting but not much.

I prefer the B&W version of the chess players over the toned one. The B&W seems to give it more of an urban feel.

The little boy is cute. Photo is nicely framed showing both him and his shadow. It's obvious he's been on a "treasure hunt" of sorts.

bdcolen

Jack'll do wrote:

Some of these have previously been posted in color. Comment/critiques appreciated.

Three good ones, Jack, though I'd lose the toned version of number two. And if you ever get to shoot number 1 again with everything precisely the same , I'd like to see his feet.

bendruckerphoto

#1. You can really see into his eyes and experience his emotions. Like B.D., I would have liked to see the feet.

Jack'll do

richtersl wrote:

#1 is a winner. The central composition works in this instance, IHMO. The woman behind the sign is a little distracting but not much.

I prefer the B&W version of the chess players over the toned one. The B&W seems to give it more of an urban feel.

The little boy is cute. Photo is nicely framed showing both him and his shadow. It's obvious he's been on a "treasure hunt" of sorts.

Thanks for the feedback Linda. I hadn't really noticed the woman but I think I'll try to clone her out. The little boy was badly sunburned from a day at the beach as you can see. He could hardly carry the pail of rocks he collected and was trailing far behind his family crying "Hey wait for me".

bdcolen

Jack'll do wrote:

Thanks for the feedback Linda. I hadn't really noticed the woman but I think I'll try to clone her out. The little boy was badly sunburned from a day at the beach as you can see. He could hardly carry the pail of rocks he collected and was trailing far behind his family crying "Hey wait for me".

Please, please, please don't try to clone that woman out. First off, it turns an image of reality into an image of what someone wishes reality had been; second off, cloning her out changes the nature of the picture, suggesting that the subject was by himself, when in fact he was in a public place with other people. And that's an important distinction.

Flyinggina

I like #1 the best too. Just as is. The expression on his face suggests both openess to conversation and a certain still patience that plays really well with his sign. I'm thinking he might give very good advice. I understand that having the feet would complete the picture from a compositional point of view, but frankly I didn't notice it at first. Virginia

bendruckerphoto

bdcolen wrote:

Please, please, please don't try to clone that woman out. First off, it turns an image of reality into an image of what someone wishes reality had been; second off, cloning her out changes the nature of the picture, suggesting that the subject was by himself, when in fact he was in a public place with other people. And that's an important distinction.

Agree 100%.

richtersl

Jack'll do wrote:

Thanks for the feedback Linda. I hadn't really noticed the woman but I think I'll try to clone her out. The little boy was badly sunburned from a day at the beach as you can see. He could hardly carry the pail of rocks he collected and was trailing far behind his family crying "Hey wait for me".

Leave her in. She's not a huge distraction, just a wee one, and not worth the aggravation of cloning out. Your main subject definitely grabs all the attention.

Jack'll do

bdcolen wrote:

Three good ones, Jack, though I'd lose the toned version of number two. And if you ever get to shoot number 1 again with everything precisely the same , I'd like to see his feet.

Thanks so much for having a look and leaving that positive feedback BD. People photos have just started to grab my attention (used to do a lot of wildlife/macro/and landscapes. I'd never cut the feet off a critter, not sure what happened here

Jack'll do

bendruckerphoto wrote:

#1. You can really see into his eyes and experience his emotions. Like B.D., I would have liked to see the feet.

Thanks Ben. I think I'll try to pull out a bit more detail around the eyes for that very reason.

Jack'll do

bdcolen wrote:

Please, please, please don't try to clone that woman out. First off, it turns an image of reality into an image of what someone wishes reality had been; second off, cloning her out changes the nature of the picture, suggesting that the subject was by himself, when in fact he was in a public place with other people. And that's an important distinction.

Thanks for that insight BD. I only got serious about my photography a year or so ago. Prior to that I was just taking "snapshots" (this is where I was and this is what I saw--with no thought at all to composition and such). Even now I struggle with creating more "meaning" with my images. I guess it's a fine line between the two.

adbsgicom

Very nicely done. Nothing to add or subtract...

Jack'll do

Flyinggina wrote:

I like #1 the best too. Just as is. The expression on his face suggests both openess to conversation and a certain still patience that plays really well with his sign. I'm thinking he might give very good advice. I understand that having the feet would complete the picture from a compositional point of view, but frankly I didn't notice it at first. Virginia

Thanks Gina
I didn't notice it either when I took it but I can see BD's point.