The Essential Dress #2

lensmole

TonyCooper

Good catch, but it bothers me a bit to have the people cut
off at the knees. I struggle with where to cut people off
if they are not fully in the frame.

bdcolen

I'm going to agree with Tony - Gasp! :-) I like the elements here, and in general I have no problem with limbectomies. But for this image to really work for me I need to see legs and feet, or, at a minimum, as much leg on the people as we see on the dummies.

Richard

Hmm...I suppose chopping limbs is generally considered bad form, but it's not one of those things that usually matter to me. On first viewing, I didn't even notice, TBH. What did bother me was that the two figures are so close together. The woman is in the perfect position (WRT the arrow), but I wish the guy was just a bit to the left. Now there's probably not much you could have done--shoot half a second later and the woman might have been too far to the right. The arrows are a great setup for a properly timed shot and this one comes very close, but I'd go back and hang around for an hour or so and see what turns up. Ideally, you'd get two people pointed to by the arrows and looking at each other, one in white, the other in black, like the dummies. That's the shot. And yeah, while you're at it try to include the feet next time.

TonyCooper

I should have mentioned that it's not not capturing the entire body that bothers me.
It's the amputation in this particular photo. Partial bodies are quite OK in some
shots, not OK in others. It's purely subjective and not a rule thing.

I have often seen a shot with some juxtaposition of people and objects where I have
been too close or had some obstruction that prevented the full view that I wanted,
but still consider the shots as "keepers".

lensmole

TonyCooper wrote: »

Good catch, but it bothers me a bit to have the people cut
off at the knees. I struggle with where to cut people off
if they are not fully in the frame.

bdcolen wrote: »

I'm going to agree with Tony - Gasp! :-) I like the elements here, and in general I have no problem with limbectomies. But for this image to really work for me I need to see legs and feet, or, at a minimum, as much leg on the people as we see on the dummies.

Richard wrote: »

Hmm...I suppose chopping limbs is generally considered bad form, but it's not one of those things that usually matter to me. On first viewing, I didn't even notice, TBH. What did bother me was that the two figures are so close together. The woman is in the perfect position (WRT the arrow), but I wish the guy was just a bit to the left. Now there's probably not much you could have done--shoot half a second later and the woman might have been too far to the right. The arrows are a great setup for a properly timed shot and this one comes very close, but I'd go back and hang around for an hour or so and see what turns up. Ideally, you'd get two people pointed to by the arrows and looking at each other, one in white, the other in black, like the dummies. That's the shot. And yeah, while you're at it try to include the feet next time.

TonyCooper wrote: »

I should have mentioned that it's not not capturing the entire body that bothers me.
It's the amputation in this particular photo. Partial bodies are quite OK in some
shots, not OK in others. It's purely subjective and not a rule thing.

I have often seen a shot with some juxtaposition of people and objects where I have
been too close or had some obstruction that prevented the full view that I wanted,
but still consider the shots as "keepers".

Thank you Gentlemen very much appreciated feedback !

I will crop anywhere that gives me the composition and the feel that I want. This image was composed in a horizontal format for obvious reasons, no post cropping or straightening. My only other option would have been to shoot it with a wider angle lens because stepping back would have put me into oncoming traffic.

There's a certain bizarre symmetry about this picture with the zigzag arrows and opposite poses and movement of the mannequins reflected in the real people crossing to pass by. The attitudinal pose of the guy with those shades kills me! No feet required.

lensmole

Richard wrote: »

Hmm...I suppose chopping limbs is generally considered bad form, but it's not one of those things that usually matter to me. On first viewing, I didn't even notice, TBH. What did bother me was that the two figures are so close together. The woman is in the perfect position (WRT the arrow), but I wish the guy was just a bit to the left. Now there's probably not much you could have done--shoot half a second later and the woman might have been too far to the right. The arrows are a great setup for a properly timed shot and this one comes very close, but I'd go back and hang around for an hour or so and see what turns up. Ideally, you'd get two people pointed to by the arrows and looking at each other, one in white, the other in black, like the dummies. That's the shot. And yeah, while you're at it try to include the feet next time.

Yeah a bit better timing might have made for a stronger image. The display was taken down to advertise fathers day. I will have to check out what new displays are there now, probably some new fall fashion coming soon or back to school.