Many faces of Saturday Market

Nikonic1

I had just a little time to run through the market this morning and wish I had more. What a wonderful mash of people and a great place to take some photos. Nothing special here, just a few I snapped off quickly as I walked through. C&C very much appreciated, I'm just getting into street and portraiture and the more tips the merrier at this point.

Enjoy!

1.


2. (I wish I had more time to wait for a clear background here)


3. Some delicious food here


4. This guy was kind enough to let me snap a quick shot after handing him 45 cents I didn't want to impose or cut into profits and in my haste cut off the bottom of his sign :cry


5.


6.

Nikonic1

I've also got to say what a fantastic little lens this Nikon 50mm f/1.8 is. For $125 it has been amazing and I'd consider it an essential piece of kit for the cost and how well it functions.

craig_d

I like the first one (the B&W) but I'd be interested to see what it looked like with the horizon leveled. Everything's leaning a bit to the left. It also looks a bit over-sharpened; the dark jacket, in particular, seems to have a slight halo.

The guitar and sax player shots are very nice too.

Nikonic1

Thanks for the tips. Here it is with a little of the sharpening taken out...I agree after looking again that it was overdone...and things straightened as much as I could (hardly at all).

Thanks again!

Nikonic1

Any more comments?

Richard

Nikonic1 wrote:

Any more comments?

One general comment on shooting street performers: I think you tend to get more interesting photos if you include other people watching or reacting to the performance. Or even ignoring it. Otherwise, it tends to be just another person playing guitar, sax, grand piano, whatever.

bdcolen

Nikonic1 wrote:

Any more comments?

Okay, I'll bite: Think carefully about what you're photographing and why you're photographing it. I'm really impressed by your willingness to get close to your subjects, which is a really important part of the battle. But when I look at most of these what I see is a collection of fairly random, quite competent, portraits of strangers. I think if you think more about subjects like these, and how to shoot what they're about, you'll do really well. For example, what if you'd waited for the guy leaning on the counter to engage with a customer, or for the panhandler to engage - or not - with a passerby? Just random thoughts.
But again, these are strong for as far as they go.

Nikonic1

bdcolen wrote:

Okay, I'll bite: Think carefully about what you're photographing and why you're photographing it. I'm really impressed by your willingness to get close to your subjects, which is a really important part of the battle. But when I look at most of these what I see is a collection of fairly random, quite competent, portraits of strangers. I think if you think more about subjects like these, and how to shoot what they're about, you'll do really well. For example, what if you'd waited for the guy leaning on the counter to engage with a customer, or for the panhandler to engage - or not - with a passerby? Just random thoughts.
But again, these are strong for as far as they go.

Thank you for the insightful comment. That is an excellent piece of constructive criticism and something I will look for moving forward. I look forward to broadening my horizons (and further "growing a pair" ) when shooting folks on the street.

bdcolen

Nikonic1 wrote:

Thank you for the insightful comment. That is an excellent piece of constructive criticism and something I will look for moving forward. I look forward to broadening my horizons (and further "growing a pair" ) when shooting folks on the street.

You clearly have "a pair" already , and I am really looking forward to seeing what you come up with.:D

Nikonic1

Flowerman

Many faces...
I like each and every shot - they may not be "Perfect" in some greater sense, but to look at each one's face and make a story about it is what it is all about. IMHO you have captured a moment. Certainly their were different stories a second or minute later. Keep them coming.

Nikonic1

Thank you for the kind words. I appreciate them for sure.