Would like some feedback

[juskonig]

Hi all, this is my first post, I thought I would submit an image here for some feedback. I typically post on Flickr but tend to feel there is a "sunshine" bias, where everyone just basically says good job. I've only started shooting in July of this year and would like to learn more.

So a little about the image...I tend to shoot a lot of street candids living in NYC. This shot is a candid of one of the Carriage drivers that ferry the tourists around the Central Park area. It was overcast, shot using 50D, ISO 200 @100mm 1/30sec, f 2.8

I PP in Lightroom, I'm actually now learning CS4 as I was told this is a more robust platform. Your CC is appreciated.

You can also see my Flickr stream here http://www.flickr.com/photos/39543612@N02/ if you wish....

Thanks,

[ScottKCooper]

I love that the horse it apparently in on a cut of the action. Can you PP out the sweat stains on his hat, and soften the light spots in the background? thanks for sharing!

[mikekelley]

This would be 100x better if he didn't have the blind over his eye.

Gah! Almost so awesome. A great idea and great capture though.

[jetcode]

I think it's a great start. The subject is interesting and there is an exchange which tells a story. The background is nicely isolated. I think a slightly tighter crop and some PP could take this image to another level. I tend to crop subjects evenly and since the horse is cropped I would do the same for the driver right up to his shoulder blade. This pushes the viewer into the middle of the driver and horse and eliminates the extraneous background on the drivers back side. I think the image could be printed down a stop in the mid-tones but that's my call not yours.

[juskonig]

Thanks for the responses guys....I see there are some little things I need to work on....some things I did not see....i.e. the crop, the sweat stains, the background I actually tried to subdue using the paint tool in LR (Still learning CS)...but the brush actually, added hard lines to the lights, maybe I'm just using it wrong....going forward I'll look at these details some more...Thanks again

[gonzogolf]

Honestly I think this might be better without the PP. I think that PP should be used judiciously on street candids in the first place, and I'm thinking perhaps your efforts to improve this photo may be having the opposite effect.

[juskonig]

yea its a matter of preference...like some folks like really saturated images...that's not for me...i like to tone down the colors a lil bit...didn't do such a good job with the bground here, b/c the lights are popping, but that was the general idea...not a fan of the saturated look...too artificial for me...thanks though

[gonzogolf]

yea its a matter of preference...like some folks like really saturated images...that's not for me...i like to tone down the colors a lil bit...didn't do such a good job with the bground here, b/c the lights are popping, but that was the general idea...not a fan of the saturated look...too artificial for me...thanks though


I'm not talking saturated. I'm talking the colors as they exist. Your approach is no less artificial than the over saturated ones.

[juskonig]

Yea, six of one half dozen of the other...thanks

[jetcode]

Honestly I think this might be better without the PP. I think that PP should be used judiciously on street candids in the first place, and I'm thinking perhaps your efforts to improve this photo may be having the opposite effect.

There is some wisdom in these words. There was a time not long ago when PP meant manipulating an image in a darkroom which in turn meant that very few photographers were able and willing to make modifications.

As it stands the capture requires no tonal modification and in fact takes on more of a Kodak EPN look which always favored a more neutral subtle color.

[juskonig]

Prob shud have posted the pre-image...cause no one really knows what it looks like relative to PP...another lesson learnt....