Beautiful Couple - Supporting Each Other

Ted Szukalski · April 7, 2007

Few days ago I took a lot of photographs, a lot more then usual as I was trying to get some good shots for “My day in photos project“. This photo of young, attractive couple was one of the shots from the day. They looked beautiful today and it was obvious they were in love: kissing and hugging. I was about to take their photo while they were embraced in a hug but by the time I’ve raised my camera to my eye the mood has suddenly changed. They still held their hands in togetherness but their faces seemed to express some concern. Whatever it is I hope they’ll overcome it together.

Click on the image or the link to see a bigger photo and EXIF

evoryware · April 7, 2007

looks like he's upset or distracted by something going on in his life and she just wants him to feel better. Nice picture.

W00DY · April 8, 2007

This was really interesting Ted.

I wasn't feeling much for the image, but then as soon as i read your explanation I couldn't take my eyes off it. I kept on wanting to know why they were unhappy after embracing. It looks to me she may have been trying to connect with him but he doesn't seem to interested

Thanks for making me think tonight

dogwood · April 8, 2007

It's a nice capture of the couple but the person right behind them keeps the shot in the "snapshot" category in my opinion. Looks like there are three people there-- not just the couple.

Ted Szukalski · April 8, 2007

That is just nature of street photography. It's not like I posed a couple of models - this is real life drama with real surroundings.

dogwood wrote:

It's a nice capture of the couple but the person right behind them keeps the shot in the "snapshot" category in my opinion. Looks like there are three people there-- not just the couple.

Ted Szukalski · April 8, 2007

I did exactly the same - it took me a couple of days before I decided to process this image and post it but now I consider it "capture of the week if not of the month"

W00DY wrote:

This was really interesting Ted.

I wasn't feeling much for the image, but then as soon as i read your explanation I couldn't take my eyes off it. I kept on wanting to know why they were unhappy after embracing. It looks to me she may have been trying to connect with him but he doesn't seem to interested

Thanks for making me think tonight

System · April 8, 2007

Great emotion. I love the image. It's got the human element nailed. You really feel this image.

System · April 8, 2007

very neat shot, ted-

hah!-

personally, I can't get over her boots-

neat boots except for the toe, with which she could really kick the crap out of you-

Ted Szukalski · April 9, 2007

Thanks Chad and George.

Yeah, these boots are very impressive. It's part of the current fashion trend - a mini and a long boot.

dogwood · April 9, 2007

Ted Szukalski wrote:

That is just nature of street photography. It's not like I posed a couple of models - this is real life drama with real surroundings.

Exactly. If you look at Henri Cartier-Bresson photos (or any well-known street photographers), they work because he nails the shot despite the surroundings. There aren't people in the space between the couples during the ol' decisive moment and all. You nailed the decisive moment with the couple, but the guy right behind them is a big ol' distraction to your intended subject.

Imagine a wedding photo with a guy walking in the space right behind the bride and groom-- not exactly something you'd put on the mantle, right? It really doesn't matter if this is street photography or not-- composition is composition and you want to do everything possible to eliminate distractions if you want a compelling photo. You simply haven't done that here. I'm sorry if you disagree, but I'll bet if you show this image to a photo editor for a newspaper or magazine, they'll say the same thing.

BTW: I actually shoot a fair amount of paid photojournalism assignments. It's not where I want my photography career to go though, so my website doesn't reflect that. Here's a shot just so you understand that I get what it's like to be shooting on the streets-- I've been pepper sprayed and tear gassed by police, I've been threatened many times with arrest, I've outrun wildfires, I've even been accused by a little old lady of being a federal agent spying on her-- so I know what it's like to shoot 'real life drama with real surroundings'.

System · April 9, 2007

dogwood wrote:

You nailed the decisive moment with the couple, but the guy right behind them is a big ol' distraction to your intended subject.

It is a distraction, but it does not kill the iamge for me. One thing I've learned to do is to shoot scenes like this at a high frame rate. It helps me to catch the moment and get a lucky background out of the bunch.

Ted Szukalski · April 9, 2007

Pete, I am not disagreeing with you. I'm just saying it is not always possible in street situation to have both the "moment" and clean composition. In this case I think this is most expressive photo I have taken in last 12 months, where the visible emotions are so strong they overpower all other elements in the frame. It is also taken in the busiest street in Sydney, not having someone there would be short of miracle.

I think the suggestion of using a burst of multiple exposures is a good one as potentially the other people may be captured in better positions. For some reason I tend to do single shots only - may have to change this approach and see if I get more "spot on" keepers.

dogwood wrote:

Exactly. If you look at Henri Cartier-Bresson photos (or any well-known street photographers), they work because he nails the shot despite the surroundings. There aren't people in the space between the couples during the ol' decisive moment and all. You nailed the decisive moment with the couple, but the guy right behind them is a big ol' distraction to your intended subject.

Imagine a wedding photo with a guy walking in the space right behind the bride and groom-- not exactly something you'd put on the mantle, right? It really doesn't matter if this is street photography or not-- composition is composition and you want to do everything possible to eliminate distractions if you want a compelling photo. You simply haven't done that here. I'm sorry if you disagree, but I'll bet if you show this image to a photo editor for a newspaper or magazine, they'll say the same thing.

BTW: I actually shoot a fair amount of paid photojournalism assignments. It's not where I want my photography career to go though, so my website doesn't reflect that. Here's a shot just so you understand that I get what it's like to be shooting on the streets-- I've been pepper sprayed and tear gassed by police, I've been threatened many times with arrest, I've outrun wildfires, I've even been accused by a little old lady of being a federal agent spying on her-- so I know what it's like to shoot 'real life drama with real surroundings'.

dogwood · April 10, 2007

Ted Szukalski wrote:

Pete, I am not disagreeing with you. I'm just saying it is not always possible in street situation to have both the "moment" and clean composition. In this case I think this is most expressive photo I have taken in last 12 months, where the visible emotions are so strong they overpower all other elements in the frame.

Ted:

Alright-- sorry to come off so harsh. I just know that when everyone says, "good job" it's not always the best way to improve. I know street photography is tough-- that's why these days I prefer to work with models-- at least they want to be in front of the camera!

I think the suggestion of using a burst of multiple exposures is a good one as potentially the other people may be captured in better positions. For some reason I tend to do single shots only - may have to change this approach and see if I get more "spot on" keepers.

Yeah, tough call on this. I'm more of a single shot guy too-- you could try a longer lens with a wide aperture too to isolate the emotion on the faces. Just an idea. I've seen newspaper guys who ALWAYS shoot in bursts-- I may not get as many keepers as them, but I generally know exactly when I have the shot. A lot of them are so busy getting everything on their CF's that they're not sure if they even have the shot they need until it's all downloaded. I guess that's the nature of that business. I remember reading somewhere about a successful photojournalist who would always see the pack of photographers at events and then look around for a dramatically different angle. Seems like a good idea but not always possible in the real world. Just like it's not always possible to control your background.

I actually look forward to seeing more of your photos and appreciate your time in replying to my comments. Besides, if Sydney is as crowded as you say-- you should have no problem refining your street technique!

System · April 10, 2007

dogwood wrote:

I actually look forward to seeing more of your photos and appreciate your time in replying to my comments. Besides, if Sydney is as crowded as you say-- you should have no problem refining your street technique!

I think you come off as a bit condescending and rather ignorant of Ted's body of work. I'd suggest you learn a bit about who you are talking to before you pretend to be the end all be all of street photography.

Just sayin'.

wxwax · April 10, 2007

Play nice, folks. :cool

dogwood · April 10, 2007

truth wrote:

I think you come off as a bit condescending and rather ignorant of Ted's body of work. I'd suggest you learn a bit about who you are talking to before you pretend to be the end all be all of street photography.

Just sayin'.

Wow. I didn't know this thread was about Ted's 'body of work'... I thought it was about this single photo. Where does it say anywhere in this thread that this is about his 'body of work'?

So are you saying no one should comment here unless they are fully aware of someone's 'body of work'?

I'll refrain from commenting on his photos in the future. I was clearly under the 'ignorant' assumption that he was posting here with the goal of improving. Guess the goal was actually a bunch of high fives and 'nice photo' comments. Yawn.

Makes for a pretty boring forum if the only comments are like that, but of course that's just my 'rather ignorant' opinion.

And where did I pretend to 'be the end all of street photography'? I posted an example of two people (a couple actually) shot in a crowd of thousands on a busy city street. I wanted to demonstrate it is possible to isolate a couple in a photo-- even on a crowded street-- and even in a dramatic moment. Seemed to me that was the struggle Ted was having with the original photo.

Oh well-- live and learn. Sorry for trying to help a fellow photographer improve. I thought that was the point of this forum.

Ted Szukalski · April 10, 2007

No need to argue over the comments or my photo, please!

I'm no holy cow and I can take criticism and I hope most of you know that by now. It's nice to get positive responses but it is also valuable to get critical or very critical ones too. I like to share my photos and yes, I have learnt a lot from the comments and I'm still learning.

Any one is always welcome to post their genuine opinions on my threads.

Beautiful Couple - Supporting Each Other

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