SuperPower Nap

[NormanSelvaraju]

Hi Everyone, Thanks for dropping by to take a look. Willing to accept the harshest critique so as to learn and to improve.

1. In which area is critique or feedback to be given?
a. Composition - The framing of the subject. I had eons to snap a pic as "superman" was fast asleep. He was motionless and I snapped about 10 diff shots of him from various angles including one from the back where you could only see his dreadlocks. But I chse this cos it included his expression and his superman emblem.
b. Post-processing - Any thiought on how to imporve?
Selective desaturation (and saturation), Increase contrast and clarity, Some split toning to add a cool effect (to mirror the sleepy Superman)
c. Technique.

2. What were you hoping to achieve with this image?
I wanted to capture how tired the subject looked. Additionally, his strong features and physique did allow him to carry the superman logo well. Hence I decided to highlight the Superman emblem in the photo.

3. Under what circumstance was the picture taken? (physical conditions/emotions)
Late morning. Diffused light as the subject was in the shade of the trees at Hong Lim Park.
ISO - 400
1/25
f7.1

4. Thread-starter's personal thoughts about the image.
I like the subject and I am fairly happy with coming away with this shot.
however, I would like to explore and hear from others how else this photo could be improved.

Thank you very much in advance!
Cheers.


SuperPower Nap by Norman Selvaraju, on Flickr

 

[wolfton]

IMO, I think this is an awesome shot. Even if you just do a simple black and white conversion, it will be just as nice.

May forego the colour for the superman logo if it's me. But it looks ok in colour too. Probably may darken the background a bit more, but these are just nit-pick. It's a good take and you seized the opportunity well :thumbsup:

 

[NormanSelvaraju]

wolfton >> Thanks for the tip on darkening the background! Shall give it a shot later and see how that works out. And I appreciate the positive feedback! Cheers!

 

[edutilos-]

The use of selective color has to make sense. I understand that you wish to bring out the context of your title but you cannot edit the picture to suit your title. The picture comes FIRST, in my book.

Some good examples of good use of selective coloring for your reference.

500px / Photo "The Gold Rush III" by Karim Nafatni
500px / Photo "The Bookstore" by Jonathan Bengtsson
500px / Photo "The vision" by David Williams
500px / Photo "O mia bela Madunina" by Roberto D'Antoni

Would it have been better to retain the color in his glasses?

Other than that, I agree with wolfton that it might be best to leave it in BnW entirely. The tonality here is great. I'm not so sure about the composition, etc though. The sharp diagonal of the bench nearly cuts the picture into half and this is not optimal visually, I feel.

 

[NormanSelvaraju]

edutiloS->>> Hi. Thank you for your comments.

Actually, it took me all morning to understand exactly what you were trying to tell me. At first I thought it was a point of view sort of thing. As in your preference in which element of the photograph to apply selective desaturation on.

But upon deeper reflection I think I understand the point you are trying to drive at.

Selective desaturation should be applied to the elements of the photograph that will highlight the meaning/story of the photo. In this case the Superman logo is a "by the way" or "incidental" element while the main focus is in the man who is sleeping. Therefore, highlighting the logo would be more distracting from the actual message of the photo. And hence counter productive. What you say certainly makes sense and I shall keep this in mind.

Thank you so much for this important learning point. Really appreciate it.

And yeah, the horizontal bar is quite an eyesore. Should have framed it lower and straighter along. The base of the photo instead.

Thanks again!

 

[d2xpeter]

Awesome, IMO.
Love the reflection on the glasses.

 

[NormanSelvaraju]

D2xpeter>>> thank you! Appreciate the encouragement!

 

[nitromaxboi]

your image is sharp and detailed. i think for this image u shouldnt add in desaturation.

 

[NormanSelvaraju]

your image is sharp and detailed. i think for this image u shouldnt add in desaturation.

Yup. Many others have also expressed that the photo would have been better without the desaturation. I can see where they, and you, are coming from. I shall be more judicious in my post processing in the future.
Thanks for dropping by with the comments. Appreciate it.

 

[anavrinsea]

from a newbies eyes (how it looks to nonpros) the angle is a bit weird.

 

[NormanSelvaraju]

from a newbies eyes (how it looks to nonpros) the angle is a bit weird.

Haha. You are right. Now that you mention it, the angle is odd. Thanks for dropping by with the comment.

 

[Wai Hoe]

nice attempt !

 

[NormanSelvaraju]

nice attempt !

Thanks!

 

[JoelImmanuel]

Personally i feel the subject is too heavy on the left side of the image ( could be personal preference as it's just a feeling , composition is good. ) What I mean by this is that if I were to have taken the shot, I would move the camera slightly lower to the left a tad bit.. Other than that, fantastic post processing.

 

[NormanSelvaraju]

Personally i feel the subject is too heavy on the left side of the image ( could be personal preference as it's just a feeling , composition is good. ) What I mean by this is that if I were to have taken the shot, I would move the camera slightly lower to the left a tad bit.. Other than that, fantastic post processing.

Yeah. You are quite right about the framing. When I take a second look at the image, tree are a few things that I would like to change about the shot and reframing it to have less empty space on the right is one of them.

Thanks for the comments! Appreciate the positive remarks!