Italian Street Artist

This snapshot was on an overcast and drizzly day. About the only PP I did was to crop a lot of clutter from around and behind him. He was a non cooperative target so this is a long shot with a midrange telephoto.

f/3.7
1/50 sec
ISO 125
160mm

Very sharp and colors look great on my monitor. But the walking butt in the b/g is distracting. Also could you crop less giving him more space in front ? May be blur or clone out the busy b/g.

Amamba wrote in post #13892030
Very sharp and colors look great on my monitor. But the walking butt in the b/g is distracting. Also could you crop less giving him more space in front ? May be blur or clone out the busy b/g.

I'm a little confused, "crop less giving him more space in front...but blur or clone the busy b/g." I cropped to remove the busy b/g and now you suggest that I add it back in but remove it?

Here is the recrop so we can rediscuss the issue.

GopherM wrote in post #13892279
I'm a little confused, "crop less giving him more space in front...but blur or clone the busy b/g." I cropped to remove the busy b/g and now you suggest that I add it back in but remove it?

Here is the recrop so we can rediscuss the issue.

I love the b/g actually. But here's a very half-assed attempt at blurring (I used Blur tool to do it quick & dirty, need Gaussian + some balancing to do it right). But I think it gives an idea of what I suggested:

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Amamba wrote in post #13892398
I love the b/g actually. But here's a very half-assed attempt at blurring (I used Blur tool to do it quick & dirty, need Gaussian + some balancing to do it right). But I think it gives an idea of what I suggested:

Hosted photo: posted by Amamba in
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forum: Critique Corner

I see what you mean but I am not adept enough (yet) with LR3 and I don't have Photoshop. I poked around in Paint.net but, again I don't know enough about layering and the other tools.

Thanks for the comments and the demo of what could be done.

Much better without tight crop, as the 1st post he is more like homeless guy.

x_tan wrote in post #13892478
Much better without tight crop, as the 1st post he is more like homeless guy.

Yeah, I was trying to crop to capture the character of his face. Guess I went too far based on my knowledge of the context of the shot. I forget that other people aren't there to see the total view.

Thanks!

GopherM wrote in post #13892444
I see what you mean but I am not adept enough (yet) with LR3 and I don't have Photoshop. I poked around in Paint.net but, again I don't know enough about layering and the other tools.

Thanks for the comments and the demo of what could be done.

Look at GIMP, it's 90% of Photoshop at 0 cost.

Amamba wrote in post #13892543
Look at GIMP, it's 90% of Photoshop at 0 cost.

I'll give it another try. I had it installed once and deleted it.

Gopher, I think you've captured a very nice scene. I do think you need only a minor crop of the original capture. The surroundings put the subject in context and are needed, I think, but I agree that the background should not dominate as much as it does. I brought saturation and brightness in the background as well as bringing in a slight blur as previously suggested. Contrast and sharpness were upped a bit on the subject (and his immediate surroundings) to help him stand out a bit.

Original image:

ImageMogul wrote in post #13893093
Gopher, I think you've captured a very nice scene. I do think you need only a minor crop of the original capture. The surroundings put the subject in context and are needed, I think, but I agree that the background should not dominate as much as it does. I brought saturation and brightness in the background as well as bringing in a slight blur as previously suggested. Contrast and sharpness were upped a bit on the subject (and his immediate surroundings) to help him stand out a bit.

Great eye on this image. It has richness and character.

Regards,
Mark

I see what you mean. Looks like natural DOF shift on the B/G. I like it. I am just a poor snapshoter attempting to tame one thing at a time (starting with the camera) and learning a lot as I got.

Thanks to all for the recommendations and the lessons.

I really like the image. Very good capture.

GopherM wrote in post #13894721
...I am just a poor snapshoter attempting to tame one thing at a time (starting with the camera) and learning a lot as I got...

Make no mistake - this is quite a good image. I'm glad that you kept the art panels surrounding the vendor in the frame rather than close-framing it. The fact that these are used to establish a makeshift booth for the vendor adds interest to the image and to the vendor's character. Too often, we get so wrapped up in the technical characteristics of a capture that we forget what establishes the "soul" of the image. Close up, this is a man. Pull back a little - and you learn something about the man (at least with this particular image).

Best Regards,
Mark

ImageMogul wrote in post #13895994
Make no mistake - this is quite a good image. I'm glad that you kept the art panels surrounding the vendor in the frame rather than close-framing it. The fact that these are used to establish a makeshift booth for the vendor adds interest to the image and to the vendor's character. Too often, we get so wrapped up in the technical characteristics of a capture that we forget what establishes the "soul" of the image. Close up, this is a man. Pull back a little - and you learn something about the man (at least with this particular image).

Best Regards,
Mark

I know what you mean. Sometime the technically perfect final cut is not the one that has the most meaning to the shooter, especially the travel shots. The expanded crop I posted is still only about 70% of the overall image. Shooting on the fly when an opportunity materializes doesn't allow you to get the perfect candid pose, B/G, lighting, etc. Kind of like a gunfight in the old west. You make the quickdraw and you either hit the bullseye or shoot yourself in the foot. At least it is better than the film days when we had to ration the shots because of the cost of film and processing. I wonder what % of the shooters PP their shot now compared to those that had access to darkrooms back in the day?

Thanks for the positive feedback.

GopherM wrote in post #13892731
I'll give it another try. I had it installed once and deleted it.

I've used GIMP for this one to blur the distracting background, have a look see. (Of course the original photo was not as good so...)