one shot from paris -critiques welcome

[chavez_ding]

this one shot is something i go back to from time to time. there are things i like and there are thing i would have done differently.
what works for me is the frontmost figures. the man walking up the stairs, the kid pointing up and the mother looking down at the kid, the man on the right talking on the phone. all these figures are at the peak of their little movements that define them and i like how my eye jumps from one to the other. second row figures are also ok. what i dont like is the background crowd which kind of drowns the main figures and does not contribute much.
about the composition, i was trying to capture both ends of the street and corner building and the metro entrance because i believe these pretty much sum up the paris experience, but now looking at it i realize space on the right throws off the balance. i should have turned a bit to the left.

anyway, i like picking on this one. i would like to know what you think. booing is welcome too 🙂

 

[28mm]

It's a good moment and I like all the people with their different roles, but what keeps it from being a great shot is the distance from everything. You know the Capa quote.

 

[boomguy57]

It's a bit far, and for me there is no clear subject to draw the eye. Also, I find the white truck on the left, and the bus on the right to be distracting. On the whole, I'd have to say it's not a particularly strong image.

 

[Sparrow]

Portrait may have been better than landscape I feel

 

[chavez_ding]

yeah i guess there are way too many distractions and the distance doesnt help either.
if i used portrait composition i could get a bit closer.

 

[zauhar]

You could easily experiment with a different crop, unless you feel that is immoral. ;-)

(I used to feel that way, but now I will make adjustments if I feel it helps.)

Randy

 

[daveleo]

I see some nice lines / geometry here and there, but there's a lot of stuff that takes away from the good lines and areas.
I mentally cropped this way in . . . to the key figures and it got better (for me) but, I don't think you can wring a really good image from this.

In my imagination, I see this as a good photo to inspire a great painting ! But it's just not there yet.

PLEASE note: I hate commenting on other people's pictures but you asked and to be honest, this image did look interesting, but I just could not get it to where I liked it.

 

[chavez_ding]

yeah cropping might be a good exercise but im not really trying to make this work 🙂 i know it doesnt work as it is and im ok with that. just thinking about what could be done different at the scene.

 

[Sparrow]

yeah cropping might be a good exercise but im not really trying to make this work 🙂 i know it doesnt work as it is and im ok with that. just thinking about what could be done different at the scene.

I would refer you to post number 4 ...

 

[daveleo]

yeah cropping might be a good exercise but im not really trying to make this work 🙂 i know it doesnt work as it is and im ok with that. just thinking about what could be done different at the scene.

okay . . . you lost me as to whatever you wanted.
you are not trying to make this work ?

why did you ask ?

sh#t !

 

[chavez_ding]

I would refer you to post number 4 ...

i did read it and i think i responded to that with post 5?

 

[chavez_ding]

okay . . . you lost me as to whatever you wanted.
you are not trying to make this work ?

why did you ask ?

sh#t !

im not understanding your shock to be honest. im a bit confused too.
i just posted an image and ask people what they do and dont like about it. so next time im taking a photograph, i will have these suggestion in the back of my mind. this photo have already been taken. i dont believe editing will change that fact and its really not a big deal. is this not reasonable?

relax people 🙂

 

[jky]

*not having read any of the other replies...

I do notice the kid, mother, etc, but only because you had mentioned it. Otherwise you're too far away from all of it for it to have any significane in the frame. The right 1/5th of the image you could do without. The background is messy.
Perhaps turning to your left as you had mentioned, getting closer & lower would allow you to emphasize what you saw at the stairs & hide the throng of people in the background.

 

[bgb]

Some interesting stuff in the image but not close enough I think.
Try the portrait crop thing and see if you like that image better, I sort of tried it by holding my hands against the screen and it improved things for me.
I find getting close to be difficult but every time i have been brave I have got some good images ... well worth a try.

 

[bonatto]

I woud have moved myself to the right, and pointed the camera more towards the left, getting th guy in the suit coming towards the camera, with the left avenue, leading away from the frame if that makes any sense. The bus on the right doesn't do much for me, but most of the stuff on the left does.

I like the shot though as it is for some reason...