Request for critique (or a simple poll about a specific image)

[arkady n.]

I hope that it is ok to ask for critique of specific images. Moderators, please let me know, I would like not to violate any rules of the forum...

I would appreciate any thoughts you have about this image and/or a simple click on the poll buttons.

[arkady n.]

This was taken with Kodak Ektar 202mm on Graphic View 4x5

[arkady n.]

This was taken with Kodak Ektar 202mm on Graphic View 4x5

I just realized that I made a mistake, this was a Kodak Ektar 203mm f7.7 lens

[Asher Kelman]

I felt that the face needed to be better defined.

So I changed the emphasis to his upper face and away from the periphery of the image. The bar behind, normally distracting now provides a base from which he is confronting us.



© 2007 Arkady Photograph

Not that this is anywhere in the same class of work, but the confrontational non-empathetic pose now reminds of me an exibition running in the Ace Gallery in Beverly Hills of Martin Schoeller's work. The ones I saw include these here but also a lot of additional far less polished, very rough non-sympathetic images.

This is of course not what you had in mind, Arkady, but what your photograph made me think of and which I try to express, before I saw the exhibition.

Asher

BTW, If the original film or RAW file was available, this image could be rendered well. I'd show the various images to the guys friens and see if any of them relate to how they see this guy!

[Asher Kelman]

What was the aperture of Ektar?

Asher

[arkady n.]

What was the aperture of Ektar?

I did not record, but I am pretty sure it was wide open at f7.7

[Randy H]

Not sure what kind of critique you are looking for. Technical? Compsition? Aesthetics? Does the pic depict what it was meant to?

IMO, focus and OOF balance is kinda cool. Clarity of detail is good. Tonal balance is acceptable levels.
What is the picture about? There is nothing that ties the picture to anything. To me, it appears as a snapshot, meaningful only to the person taking it, and the person in the pic. Was he hit by a truck? Fall off a bicycle? Bad rugby matchup?
Trying to critique as opposed to criticize helps if you know what it is you are looking at.
What with and where was it shot? Is this 35mm, or 11X14?
Details, please.

[Brian Ellis]

How did you get to photograph Tiger Woods' older brother? : - )

I'm not a portrait guy but it looks good to me and I would have been proud to have made the photograph. If I were making it after having seen yours I think I think I would have removed the necklace chain. The chain is the brightest thing in the photograph and the first thing my eye went to. I'm not sure about the head placement, partly because I can't see the entire photograph at once on my monitor, but I might have framed it so that his eyes were a little closer to the top (i.e. a little less background above his head). But I don't know, these are things someone more experienced with portraits than I am can talk about better than I can, I thought it was a very effective and interesting portrait.

[paulr]

I'm not a portrait guy either--- one reason is that it's outside my comfort zone.

i voted that i'd be happy to take such a picture. not so much because i think it's a "good" picture, whatever that means--i like the picture, but i'm increasingly wary of things that automatically look like "good shots."

i'd be happy to have taken it because it represents a kind of open, human rapport between the artist and the subject ... a connection that's more of a challenge (or at least a more interesting challenge) than the purely photographic ones.

one day i'd like to take on a portrait project.

[Ben R]

I'm a wedding/portrait photographer by profession so please excuse my opinion.

The photo has too much empty space above the head that doesn't serve any useful purpose. The lighting is bad, needs fill flash and has no separation from the background (far too flat). As a portrait the shoulders are slumped, the pose too flat on. It is not off center enough for that to be part of the composition or on center enough to work. As an enviromental portrait the picture tells me nothing about the context.

Sorry.