I shoot people and never get caught

this my first time actually shooting somebody... I'm much more into the other stuff i do (patterns, shadows, nature, landscape, wildlife, etc..) but i thought this would be a great opportunity to learn some new things. i want HARSH critique, don't think you have to hold back because i'm new to people.... if it sucks, SAY SO!

The lighting seems to harsh; the light source (i.e. sun) seems to be directly above the subjects, producing a lot of shadows under the eyes, nose, etc.

Unless this was the type of look you were going for, the BW conversion helps a little IMHO.

The first shot seems to be in open shade - so that gives the subject the best possible lighting for out of doors, natural light photography. Less contrast!

#2 shot has the subject looking out of the frame. Better to have the subject looking into the frame as in the first and third shots.

Nw85887 -It was a very sunny day and it was the only day he was available… I was going for the contrasty (is that even a word?), harsh lit look on the second one, but regrettably I also got it on the third…does it work for the third?

Actually, screw the look I was going for, do these work? Do they look good?

Robert- would toning down the contrast when I do the B&W convert help, or are you talking about the photo itself? Good advice on the second one, hints like that are what keep me coming back to this forum!

I like the first one and to me the exposure seems perfect, i like the fact the Subject is off center in the foreground and then my eye is drawn back to the interesting pattern of the metal and doors etc.,

it seems clear to me that you wanted to not only highlight your subject but also the enviroment he was in.

Just my opinion but i realy like the first one.

NicholasBB

#1 is really good, but still the cropping bothers me a little: I would like to see a tiny space above the hair just to show that it's all there, and maybe it would be better to have the whole door behind the model (just a small strip of the wall on the right to the door so you can see that the door is exactly the same as the other doors) in the frame but on the other hand that might place the model more center which could be worse.
I really like the look on the model, specially the eyes. I also like the repeated doors but if I would try to "copy" this setting I would at least test if a slightly lower angle would be better so all the locks would be in a horizontal line.
But again, I really like this picture.

Bigbitt8706 wrote in post #5602672
Nw85887 -It was a very sunny day and it was the only day he was available… I was going for the contrasty (is that even a word?), harsh lit look on the second one, but regrettably I also got it on the third…does it work for the third?

Actually, screw the look I was going for, do these work? Do they look good?

Robert- would toning down the contrast when I do the B&W convert help, or are you talking about the photo itself? Good advice on the second one, hints like that are what keep me coming back to this forum!

Yes, the phrases "harsh" and "contrasty" are both applicable.

"Harsh" is a non-techincal word that most people can identify with and "contrasty" has very specific technical meaning in photography.

"Does it work" is more for you to judge than anyone else. I give you my opinion as a critic who tries to identify techniques or results that do or do not seem to fit well in the mainstream of photography.

The reason I do not recommend controlling contrast "after the fact" is that, as is the case with most post processing, it is usually not as effective as capturing correctly what you want in the first place.

For example, reducing contrast during pp can be done selectively. However, that's a lot of work, and when you do it across the entire image, it doesn't give you the effect you were looking for, because the entire image loses its impact and becomes flat.