Bored

[icarus]

Nikon FM3a, AF 85/1.4, Superia 400

[eikin]

the focus of the picture is on the little girl holding onto a bunch of stones. i feel there's too much of the environment included that do not contribute to the focus of the picture. give it a tighter crop.

i appreciate the fact that at this angle the little girl's head is placed against the shadow area of the structures in the background, thus bringing out the facial expression.

[eikin]

this is what i see in the picture, hope you wouldn't mind, will remove upon request:



i think using the green channel for the black and
white conversion also effectively isolate the face
and hands from the colourful composition.

[ortega]

a lower point of view will make the background more uniform and make the subject stand out and isolate the facial expression, i feel that a darker background will enhance the "bored" title as there is nothing in the background

the sunlight on the ground distracts.

[nemesis32]

Originally Posted by eikin this is what i see in the picture, hope you wouldn't mind, will remove upon request: i think using the green channel for the black and white conversion also effectively isolate the face and hands from the colourful composition.

Eikin... sorry but i disagree with your treatment...

I agree that the pic needs a bit of cropping but not too bad. You have cropped away some good bits!

You see.. The little girl's dressing reflects her character, bright and cherry. The surrounding dull colours reflects the location/mood of boring/dull. Also, the legs.... if you look closely, you can see she was actually swinging or lifting her legs...

I think this is a very good pic that conveys the message across very well. Only some minor things like the harsh sunlight on ground and back of the girl, Crop the back and top a bit and it's an excellent shot. slight pity is you dun have some sort of eye contact (or see the eyes)

[eikin]

Originally Posted by nemesis32 Eikin... sorry but i disagree with your treatment... I agree that the pic needs a bit of cropping but not too bad. You have cropped away some good bits! You see.. The little girl's dressing reflects her character, bright and cherry. The surrounding dull colours reflects the location/mood of boring/dull. Also, the legs.... if you look closely, you can see she was actually swinging or lifting her legs... I think this is a very good pic that conveys the message across very well. Only some minor things like the harsh sunlight on ground and back of the girl, Crop the back and top a bit and it's an excellent shot. slight pity is you dun have some sort of eye contact (or see the eyes)

well, i would agree with you on the wider crop if there is something in the environment that relates to the scale of the little girl, i sense that she is rather small in size and would make a wonderful contrast against huge machineries (seems like a railway track but not enough details) i prefer the very tight crop because i see the need to focus on the girl's facial expression and hands more than the entire body gesture, the latter are secondary IMHO.

[icarus]

Thanks for the comments so far!

Yes, thats a train in the background. Hmm.. seems like there are quite a lot of distracting elements in the photo.
As for eye contact, Do you think its better if the girl is looking at me? or looking down at the stones?

[varf]

great lighting, i like how the details in her hair are brought out while the rest of her body is softly lit. choice of DOF is good, the background is blurred enough not to distract, but still interesting.

i disagree with the need for further cropping; her face is placed nicely in the top right "thirds" intersection and the focus of attention is quite natural and pleasing. the space above her head helps to accentuate her size in relation to her surroundings and works well in this photo.

the soft colours work for me as well.

[Tupi Guy]

Originally Posted by icarus Nikon FM3a, AF 85/1.4, Superia 400

As for me, i prefer the original. Cos the space and the background tell me why the girl is bored about.

A place where she cant really find stuff to "play" with. That why she was holding the stone.

These just how i feel about it.

[nemesis32]

Eye contact - definitely should be looking at stone or turning around looking for something to do. No direct contact. The prob with your pic is you cannot see the eye at all.. not a big issue but still a nitpick.

Originally Posted by icarus Thanks for the comments so far! Yes, thats a train in the background. Hmm.. seems like there are quite a lot of distracting elements in the photo. As for eye contact, Do you think its better if the girl is looking at me? or looking down at the stones?

[nemesis32]

Originally Posted by eikin well, i would agree with you on the wider crop if there is something in the environment that relates to the scale of the little girl, i sense that she is rather small in size and would make a wonderful contrast against huge machineries (seems like a railway track but not enough details) i prefer the very tight crop because i see the need to focus on the girl's facial expression and hands more than the entire body gesture, the latter are secondary IMHO.

To me, the movements show she's restless and thus impt as the title is BORED. This is what i mean by valuable clues... The contrast of her bright clothes against the dull dark colours also gives you how she is and the environment. Scale is not essential thus still can crop but not so tight.

[nemesis32]

Originally Posted by Tupi Guy As for me, i prefer the original. Cos the space and the background tell me why the girl is bored about. A place where she cant really find stuff to "play" with. That why she was holding the stone. These just how i feel about it.

yup, exactly how i feel as well. Thats why i say it's successful but just need some fine-tuning in slight cropping.

[Tupi Guy]

Originally Posted by nemesis32 yup, exactly how i feel as well. Thats why i say it's successful but just need some fine-tuning in slight cropping.

Just like u said, it pity that her eyes are not looking at the stones.

[ykia]

I thought that she was about to fall asleep, that's why her eyes are closed (or closing). The pic does tell the "Bored" caption adequately in this case, plus there's nothing but stones to play with. The warmish color cast give a hot & lazy day.

[Slammer]

Your images are fine without cropping.

her eyes open would defintely be better.

Perhaps you can do a soft focus for a dreamy effect. Might work.

[nemesis32]

Originally Posted by Slammer Your images are fine without cropping. her eyes open would defintely be better. Perhaps you can do a soft focus for a dreamy effect. Might work.

Disagree with dreamy effect/soft focus as it will defeat the title of bored....

[Bernard Ong]

I like the sharpness and bokeh of the lens. Picture wise, nothing to say as i dun shoot portraits.