Thinking about stuff

[sowdog]

Greetings, first post.

I've got an image that I'd like your opinion on because I'm quite fond of it yet i feel that it's not a "good" photo. I'm hoping your opinions would help me understand why I feel the way I do about it. So any sort of opinions on how the photo could be improved composition wise woud be appreciated.

The photo was taken outside KLCC in KL some time late evening and my idea when I saw it was that the guy seemed deep in thought staring at the fountain. I've left the image at a 100% crop and although I feel the there's more ground than I'd like, I also cant seem to get a crop that I'm okay with. Thanks.

[m3lv1nh0]

I think it's because the subject(the man) is positioned too central. If you follow the rule of the third and place him in one of the thirds, it might look better to the eyes.

This just look like a snapshot to me I guess.

[sowdog]

Thanks for the reply, after googling the two third rule i have some interesting reading.

[Bosty]

Originally Posted by sowdog Thanks for the reply, after googling the two third rule i have some interesting reading.

yeah, the third rule would help identity the subject of this photo.
i like the idea of the shot,
however, probably lack of "planning" made it look like a snapshot.

1) Centered man (subject) - like wad m3lv1nh0 said
2) Funny cut off bground - which are the buildings.
3) water getting cut also

could start of by always having in mind where to place ur subject and the angle of ur photo
i think dis photo would look great if the water was shot in a angle.

keep trying!

[Buggy]

imo. try converting to b&w, might give a better feel.

[Yapster]

My views are that this shot would have bring out the "feel" of the title if there is more background (i.e the buildings) included and if the man is "standing" at the lower corner of the shot and is relatively small compared to the background (in this case, right side cos he will look as if he is looking towards the left).

Reason for this composition is because, the smaller size of the man with reference to the vast background will give the viewers a visual feel of infinity which suits the "thinking" title. I feel, a human's mind is vast to accomodate millions of thoughts.

And also, the shot don't seems sharp.

Just my 2 cents. Keep shooting to improve man!

[sowdog]

Hi guys, thanks for the helpful comments and encouragement. I've come to a couple of conclusions myself concerning the image and why i like /dislike it. I probably like it conceptually(a stolen moment of a dude thinking) but i think technically the execution is off as highlighted by the comments.

Yapster & Bosty, would including more background give a more cluttered feel? The ground and the background have a simliar shade,colour to the subject so is there a way i can make it a subject of focus?

Buggy. ill take a shot.

[Yapster]

Hmm, personally, i doubt so. Cos the man is wearing white and the background is night scape which is not so bright as compared to his shirt. And i think it also depends on how you compose the shot. Maybe it is because i didn't state my "small" is how small, so paiseh huh. Hehe.

Another way is to use spot metering and adjust the camera's focus to focus on the man. This will allows the camera to use his shirt to adjust the exposure and thus, makes the background looks dimmer as compared to his shirt. You can also try to use a bigger aperture. However, it may create too much bokeh and makes the background looks too blur if too wide an aperture is use.

My views la~

[yehosaphat]

How do you portray that this person is thinking about stuff when you can't even see his facial expression....