Smitten

[marke]

M6 TTL, Summicron 35/f2 ASPH, and Kodak 400CN.

 

[Ororaro]

Mark, since this is the critique salon, I will participate.

The first and main question is: Why do you like it? Is it simply pride that you nailed a moment you had in mind? A moment that we see a milion times a day?

Personally, I think the girl looks like she's dead andthere's just nothing going on. There's no interaction between he and she, except the shoulder. There's also no environmental clues to help me understand the picture. Are they waiting for a drug dealer? For the bus?

 

[marke]

Mark, since this is the critique salon, I will participate.

The first and main question is: Why do you like it?

Ned, I'm trying to get input from other people. Why I like it isn't relevant at this point. OTOH, the couple themselves liked it. After taking it, I introduced myself, gave them my card, and a few days later had sold them a print.

Is it simply pride that you nailed a moment you had in mind? A moment that we see a milion times a day?

Although I don't really feel any pride towards this photo, I'm somewhat happy with it. As far as seeing this a million times a day...well, I can hang out in town all day, and it would be not as often as you might think. Milwaukee, WI is not Paris, Ned. We have too much beer here and not enough wine.

Personally, I think the girl looks like she's dead andthere's just nothing going on.

Dead? Okay, but I don't see anything like that.

There's no interaction between he and she, except the shoulder.

You're right, there is no obvious interaction. My intention wasn't to capture interaction. The girl was clearly smitten, and that usually freezes a lot of action at the moment.

There's also no environmental clues to help me understand the picture. Are they waiting for a drug dealer? For the bus?

I would say that by the young lady's obvious gaze, she was in no need of any other mind-altering substances. But your second guess was right.

 

[Gumby]

Consider crop to square or crop to landscape... deleting the bottom parts of the frame. The eye gravitates there, yet it has little to do with (what I believe is) your intent.

 

[Rafael]

Street shooting often involves quick reactions. Sometimes, you just don't have time to pick the perfect angle and frame precisely. So please keep these limitations in mind when considering my comments. Also, the fact that the couple liked the photograph enough to buy a print from you points to the fact that you really captured something here. And, in this case, the couple's opinion is certainly more important than mine.

Personally, I am bugged by two aspects of the photograph. The first, more trivial element, is the pair of feet that seem to be portruding from the girl's pocket.

My primary critique relates to the girl's expression, because of your shooting angle, we can't quite tell if she's resting her head on the guy's shoulder or just looking up at him. A perspective a little bit to your right would have allowed the viewer to see more of her head and, I think, would have made it look more natural. Also, a perspective more to your right would have shown both of her eyes. I think that the unnaturalness of her expression is due in large part to the fact that we can only see one eye and that the reason for the angle of her head is not clear. I don't mind the fact that his face is entirely hidden. There is an element of mystery to the photograph this way. But I do think that the photograph would have been much better if we could have seen more of her head. Just my 2 cents.

 

[RayPA]

Ned, I'm trying to get input from other people. Why I like it isn't relevant at this point.
...
...

I agree.

regarding the image:
On the whole I like the shot and the idea of the shot. It shows a lot with very little. It really is all about the girl's face and her eye and a fleeting tender moment. While I'm generally opposed to titles I think this one works. Good composition by placing the girl's face on the upper 1/3 line. Nice exposure and tones. A nice impulse shot/catch.

i think the shot would have been a little more effective if the main focus (actual focal plane) had been on the girl. Her face seems soft while the clothing appears tack sharp, which is great for fashion-type shots. Actually, you see this type of shot now in clothing advertisements. I don't mind softness in focus and in this case, considering the moment, it works on her face, but the sharpness of the clothing competes too much almost putting the girl's face as a secondary element. This would have been very effective with a shallow DoF, especially since we get so little information about the guy, anyway. Again, It really is all about the girl's face and her eye. As a suggestion, maybe try to soften/blur the foreground a little in PS. I find the highlighted reflection area in the upper left to be distracting.

This is a really good shot that captures a tender moment effectively. Nice work.

 

[marke]

Thanks for all the replies. I have to agree on a couple things, the focus issue and the distraction of the lower part of the image.

Gumby: You're right about the cropping. I can easily see where losing the lower 1/4 or so would improve the photo a lot.

Nikonwebmaster: You are right about me needing to practice more on the slow shutter speeds. This would have allowed me to increase the DOF (I mostly use 400CN or 400 SP2 and set my camera anywhere from 200 to 320 ASA, but rarely anything higher. So this kind of limits me in this respect). However, I wouldn't neccesarily say she looks dead. I think her gaze is quite accurate given her condition. After all, if anyone here has been on either side of this moment, the "look" is very much like this when seen by the rest of the world.

Rafael: You made a good point about my shooting position. I don't think I was in any "position" to change my position, without losing the shot that is. I'm certainly no Garry Winogrand. However, I understand how that would have made a vast improvement. Thanks for explaining it so well.

Thanks, everybody, for taking the time to help me with this one.

 

[SolaresLarrave]

Well, I like the photo. I do see a fleeting moment here. Either she's showing her being smitten, or paying attention to him or daydreaming, but the couple's posture and demeanor says it's a nice, personal and almost intimate moment. It may not be the case for most, but my eyes went directly to her face and caught the situation.

I'm glad the couple liked it enough to buy a print. Good job!

 

[marke]

Well, I like the photo. I do see a fleeting moment here. Either she's showing her being smitten, or paying attention to him or daydreaming, but the couple's posture and demeanor says it's a nice, personal and almost intimate moment. It may not be the case for most, but my eyes went directly to her face and caught the situation.

Great! I guess that's says something for the image. And as you pointed out, it was a fleeting moment. Act quick or lose it.

I'm glad the couple liked it enough to buy a print. Good job!

Thanks. That doesn't happen everyday!