grumpy kid

[liionel]

hi all, first post here, but please don't hold back on what you have to say, i really am keen to improve, and the only way is through mistakes.

took this shot at last sunday's flea market at holland v area, saw this kid complaining to his mom(who was also selling stuff at the flea) constantly about the heat. thus i quickly whipped out my camera and decided to take a shot of him.

i took this shot in an attempt to bring out his grumpiness and eagerness to leave the place, decided to take it in BW to even more emphasize his dull mood.

Photo was taken at ISO 200, F4.9, 1/250, Focal Length 66.7mm using Fuji6500fd.

thanks for viewing!

 

[with_brokenwings]

hey liionel

when i saw your shot, i knew it had the potential to look awesome, just that it's missing something here. i cant really put my finger on it. it's like, the feeling i get is that there's something not quite right with it. not much of a help, i know, but i wanted you to know. don't know if others might feel the same.

but one thing i do notice is the very cluttered background. i personally feel it's too distracting, making it look like there's alot going on back there and taking my focus off the kid.

i do like the soft lighting on the kid's face though. shows alot of detail and the roundness of his face.

and about my feeling: maybe the kid isn't standing out enough? cause the colours make it look almost as if he's part of the background. :think:

i do hope it helps. maybe someone else might be able to pick off from where i left off?

 

[night86mare]

1) extremely cluttered bg spoils the shot
2) good expression on his face
3) not sure, but this looks taken from a higher viewpoint, lower might have been slightly better, i imagine, at least to make the subject look better
4) framing also doesn't really work here, square crop should improve the picture
5) needs pp to isolate the subject slightly more, as best as you can given the clutter in the bg
6) kid's face is also not very sharp , needs unsharp mask work

this is my take

 

[with_brokenwings]

1) extremely cluttered bg spoils the shot
2) good expression on his face
3) not sure, but this looks taken from a higher viewpoint, lower might have been slightly better, i imagine, at least to make the subject look better
4) framing also doesn't really work here, square crop should improve the picture
5) needs pp to isolate the subject slightly more, as best as you can given the clutter in the bg
6) kid's face is also not very sharp , needs unsharp mask work

this is my take

Bingo. i think night86mare hit the nail on the head. haha.

 

[liionel]

man after the crop i must agree it looks much better!

thanks for the advice guys, btw sorry to OT abit, but where do i get to adjust the "curves" in photoshop ? sorry still quite fresh to learning PP work, realised a little PP helps alot.

thanks brokenwings and night86mare!

 

[night86mare]

man after the crop i must agree it looks much better!

thanks for the advice guys, btw sorry to OT abit, but where do i get to adjust the "curves" in photoshop ? sorry still quite fresh to learning PP work, realised a little PP helps alot.

thanks brokenwings and night86mare!

image --> adjustments --> curves
alternatively, if you want to see the effect of your adjustment you can use layer --> adjustment layer, select curves

have fun with ps, pp is a very important part of digital photography, like it or not, digital sensor limited compared to film, and even film needs post process work sometimes

besides the crop i converted into duotone, added sepia filter
it's just me, i can't stand b&w pure, need some colour.. =D
did usm and up contrast, as well as gaussian blur using layers before erasing that layer to reveal subject
some shadow lifting as well

 

[grumpy]

Technicality aside, the kid doesnt look "grumpy"
Bored or frustrated, maybe, I just dun get that grumpy feeling

;p

 

[roadrunner_552]

Technicality aside, the kid doesnt look "grumpy"
Bored or frustrated, maybe, I just dun get that grumpy feeling

;p

hehe same nick as you. :bsmilie: