Cobbler


NormanSelvaraju

Senior Member
Dec 12, 2012
894
9
18
Singapore
1. In what area is critique to be sought?
Composition
Technique
Post-Processing - I cropped it tighter. Upped contrast/clarity, increased the blacks and saturation)

2. What one hopes to achieve with the piece of work?
Capturing a cobbler who is concentrating intently on his work.
It is not a sight that one gets to see often these days, hence I wanted to capture it.
Plus, it took me several shots to get a shot with his hands and face the way I wanted to capture - absolute concentration on his work.

3. Under what circumstance is the picture taken? (physical conditions/emotions)
Ambient Light.
At the staircase of Tekka Market
A regular Friday Mid-afternoon
Shot in Raw - Post processed in Camera Raw 5,7 (After using DNG Convertor)

4.What the Critique seeker personally thinks of the picture?
I like the subject and the capture.
But I feel that it is poorly post-processed.
The original( --- I'll post the link here when the thread gets approved) lacks the punch even thought I shot in portrait scene setting. Hence I pumped up the blacks and the saturation mainly to give it a bit more punch and so that it doesn't look so flat. But I still think more can be done to do justice to the picture.

Thanks in advance to all.


IMG_2662final by Norman Selvaraju, on Flickr
 

if he is sitting, show the floor. the clutter of shoes and fix-it equipment may add more context to the scene. so far i can see on mobile clubsnap is just one shoe and unidentified bags.
 

Shizuma>>>. Yes. Now that you mention it, more cobbler related items would certainly improve the composition and give it more meaning.

How would you suggest I improve the technical and post processing aspects? ( other than to shoot at f8, which I will do on Sunday at Chinatown. Haha. )

Thanks Shizuma!
 

My suggestion for post processing...

The shot is quite cluttered with objects and as the title suggest - cobbler.

I will do it in Black and White then underexposed the back.

Take note of the lighting coming at angle of 45 degrees top right. This will act as a kinda of spot light feeling.

- Recroped to sq format with the thirds on the hands and the cobbler. Crop of the cluttered left and top right stuff.
- Add in vignetting to further emphasize on the cobbler.
- Add in a brightness layer specifically to brighten up his hands and the shoes.
- Add in another layer to specifically give more lines to his hands and the tool.
- Then add in grain (Ilford XP2 Super 400) as the art of cobbler usually suggests rough, elderly and lost.
- Clone off the shin (shine) on the chair. Clone off the NTUC word.

That way, the focus of the eyes will be upon the cobbler himself.



Did the above processing really quickly so did not have time to "check" the work

*will remove the image later*
 

My suggestion for post processing...

The shot is quite cluttered with objects and as the title suggest - cobbler.

I will do it in Black and White then underexposed the back.

Take note of the lighting coming at angle of 45 degrees top right. This will act as a kinda of spot light feeling.

- Recroped to sq format with the thirds on the hands and the cobbler. Crop of the cluttered left and top right stuff.
- Add in vignetting to further emphasize on the cobbler.
- Add in a brightness layer specifically to brighten up his hands and the shoes.
- Add in another layer to specifically give more lines to his hands and the tool.
- Then add in grain (Ilford XP2 Super 400) as the art of cobbler usually suggests rough, elderly and lost.
- Clone off the shin (shine) on the chair. Clone off the NTUC word.

That way, the focus of the eyes will be upon the cobbler himself.

Did the above processing really quickly so did not have time to "check" the work


*will remove the image later*

goderictia >>>
Wow...
It looks great. And you lost me after the second line in your recipe for the post-processing. It looks like I am still way out of my depth when it comes to the post-processing. I have earmarked two books (1. Real world Camera Raw and 2. Photoshop CS4 for Photographers) and am reading the first one now. I hope it leads me towards developing the technique that you display when post-processing. In the meanwhile, thank you for taking the time to show me how much more the image can be improved and therefore pointing me in the direction of where i need to develop further. Looking forward to other comments as well.

Cheers and thanks in advance to all.
 

From your flickr account I guess this is the original picture?

Cobbler by Norman Selvaraju, on Flickr

I think you either have to go in close and take just the cobbler, or go wider to take him together with his surroundings.

In your posted photo I think there are too many distractions. Also note that the person is relatively darker than his surroundings, when you added contrast and saturation the chairs and plastic bags get boosted more and become more prominent as distractions. So you probably need do your post-processing more selectively (and goderictia has given a good example, together with detailing the steps he took)... Just remember getting the composition right is still important

Thanks for sharing and keep shooting :)
 

Shizuma>>>. Yes. Now that you mention it, more cobbler related items would certainly improve the composition and give it more meaning.

How would you suggest I improve the technical and post processing aspects? ( other than to shoot at f8, which I will do on Sunday at Chinatown. Haha. )

Thanks Shizuma!

take a composition as good as you can, no need to post process.

I am by no means a purist about PP, I am just a lazy cat who likes to make better images and less repairing of them. (Maybe like building the roof of a house, do 1 time good-good, no need to return to fix much)

a hint: if you wish to make it seem like a sunset industry, you can underexpose your image by 1/3 stop using the Exposure Compensation feature (read your manual).

Or shoot in Manual Mode, and dial in a shorter shutter time such that the light-meter says "less than normal exposure"... *see my how to use TTL-light-meter guide in Articles and Guides subforum "Beyond Basics " thread...

hope it helps your experimentation too.
 

I totally agree with Shizuma and thoongeng. Post process is just to fine tune small details not to make an image pop.

Technically:
Open your aperture wide and zoom into the subject. If you are confident enough use manual focus. (Bokeh Master!!!)

Composition:
Reduce clutter and focus on the objects that mean something

Post process:
Watch more Youtube! :)

Shoot more and have fun!!!
 

From your flickr account I guess this is the original picture?

Cobbler by Norman Selvaraju, on Flickr

I think you either have to go in close and take just the cobbler, or go wider to take him together with his surroundings.

In your posted photo I think there are too many distractions. Also note that the person is relatively darker than his surroundings, when you added contrast and saturation the chairs and plastic bags get boosted more and become more prominent as distractions. So you probably need do your post-processing more selectively (and goderictia has given a good example, together with detailing the steps he took)... Just remember getting the composition right is still important

Thanks for sharing and keep shooting :)

thoongeng >>>
You are right. That is the original image. Haha. I knew I had to produce a tighter composition to bring out the effect that I had in my mind, just like what you said. But I guess I should have moved in closer instead of depending on cropping the photo.

Yeah. In my first edit when I pumped up the Saturation to increase the contrast of the cobbler, the plastic chair started to GLOW. Haha... It was only after reading up on PS that I muted the yellow of the chair. But I guess that even more selective processing is required. Thanks for pointing it out.


take a composition as good as you can, no need to post process.

I am by no means a purist about PP, I am just a lazy cat who likes to make better images and less repairing of them. (Maybe like building the roof of a house, do 1 time good-good, no need to return to fix much)

a hint: if you wish to make it seem like a sunset industry, you can underexpose your image by 1/3 stop using the Exposure Compensation feature (read your manual).

Or shoot in Manual Mode, and dial in a shorter shutter time such that the light-meter says "less than normal exposure"... *see my how to use TTL-light-meter guide in Articles and Guides subforum "Beyond Basics " thread...

hope it helps your experimentation too.

Shizuma >>> Yeap! I have read that entire thread of yours! Topic #5 (Overexposing Background) was very interesting. Never thought that overexposure would be useful till I read that! Very creative!
Btw, I do know how to under expose the shot. But I didn't know that underexposing it would produce a an effect like that. Shall experiment! Thanks!


I totally agree with Shizuma and thoongeng. Post process is just to fine tune small details not to make an image pop.

Technically:
Open your aperture wide and zoom into the subject. If you are confident enough use manual focus. (Bokeh Master!!!)

Composition:
Reduce clutter and focus on the objects that mean something

Post process:
Watch more Youtube! :)

Shoot more and have fun!!!

Goderictia >>> Thanks for the detailed posts! I was shooting wide open (2.80 actually. But I think I wasn't close enuf to the subject. And the wall was quite close to the subject. Hence the inappropriate dof for the situation and poor bokeh.

To the 3 CSers who replied, thanks for pointing out the AFIs I need to work on. Really appreciate it!
Essentially, I shall focus on producing pics with better compositions first (move closer and reduce distractions).
And I'll keep reading up on the processing on the side. A lot to learn. Thanks again.
Shall come back with pics of Chinatown after this weekend's outing with the other CSers.
 

this image is a good exercise in framing, and removal of distracting elements. i like the colour here instead of black and white. suggest selective dodging and burning as well.
e.g.
8680280109_3ae08870c8_b.jpg
 

this image is a good exercise in framing, and removal of distracting elements. i like the colour here instead of black and white. suggest selective dodging and burning as well.
]

Zaren >> Thank you for your input Zaren. I see what you did there. And it does improve the image to make things more even in terms of luminescence. Thanks for your version. It never occurred to me to doge and burn. Thanks again.
 

this image is a good exercise in framing, and removal of distracting elements. i like the colour here instead of black and white. suggest selective dodging and burning as well.
e.g.
8680280109_3ae08870c8_b.jpg

original color very muted hmm. ts's version looks like what i could had done with instagram haha. its hard to have a black subject, especially when you have bright yellow chair on the left, red plastic bag on the right to distract you.
 

allenleonhart said:
original color very muted hmm. ts's version looks like what i could had done with instagram haha. its hard to have a black subject, especially when you have bright yellow chair on the left, red plastic bag on the right to distract you.

Allenleonhart-- Thank you for dropping by with the comments. I would have to agree that the original had muted Colours. Hence I attempted to increase vibrance and contrast during post processing.

Given your comment, I think it wasn't sufficient. I also Belau ether you are suggesting I remove the chair and orange bag ( or at least reduce their luminance) to increase the focus on the main subject. Is that correct?

Thanks again.