Critique this shot please!

specs:
XSi
ISO400
70mm
f/2.8
1/50s exposure

yes, the ball is dirty as hell from the chalk. but this was an impromptu shot taken at the neighborhood bar. but i like the way it turned out. and yeah, i know the shot would have been better if he's using a better bridge. but its a friendly game and we didnt play serious.

anything else, that could have made the shot better?

I think it's nice, but I would love to have seen the target ball as well.

something like this??

disclaimer: thats still not me, i wont let anyone touch my gear especially when i have the 24-70L attached!

I like the first shot. I would love to see the focus on his face instead of the ball. I think it would make it a more powerful picture due to the more interesting subject--instead of a white ball.

Cheers!

Well, lighting in general leaves much to be desired, and WB too. Feels too much like a snapshot rather than a photograph though, I can't really feel anything from the photo, and doesn't seem to tell a tale at all. I'm sure a bit more PP/practice will help alleviate those issues.

harshgnar wrote in post #9979598
I like the first shot. I would love to see the focus on his face instead of the ball. I think it would make it a more powerful picture due to the more interesting subject--instead of a white ball.

Cheers!

agreed. i find my self drawn to the face.

actually, the felt of the table is really like what is shown, like i said, it was from a neighborhood bar and the table is unkempt.

and the first shot, i was going for the "concentration". so i focused the cue ball.

as for the lighting, yeah, it was a dark bar where the only ambient light is the overhead of the table and some scattered around the bar.

anything else?

Panda_stunter wrote in post #9985219
and the first shot, i was going for the "concentration". so i focused the cue ball.

Since the ball can't concentrate, your theme would have been better conveyed by focusing on the shooter.

Chris wrote in post #9985618
Since the ball can't concentrate, your theme would have been better conveyed by focusing on the shooter.

cool! i guess, i was going for the "dramatic" effect then! haha!

thanks for the critiques! i welcome more to make me better!

I think it is better with the focus on the ball. The face is still discernible and so is the ball. As well as the cue tip. If the face alone was in focus, then the only subject component would be his face. This is because the ball and cue tip are closer to the camera, they would be affected more by DoF and not stand out as much as the blurred face.

The way the shot is set up, lets the eye find things to look at in a few different locations and piece together what was going on. The line made by the cue stick pieces both together.

The shot may have been better if you still focused on the ball, yet used a slightly greater depth of field. This way the face would be even more discernible and you could still get the same effect.

White balance needs work. Lighting as well, but I guess if you want to use ambient light, you get what you got.

AlphaChicken wrote in post #9992964
I think it is better with the focus on the ball. The face is still discernible and so is the ball. As well as the cue tip. If the face alone was in focus, then the only subject component would be his face. This is because the ball and cue tip are closer to the camera, they would be affected more by DoF and not stand out as much as the blurred face.

The way the shot is set up, lets the eye find things to look at in a few different locations and piece together what was going on. The line made by the cue stick pieces both together.

The shot may have been better if you still focused on the ball, yet used a slightly greater depth of field. This way the face would be even more discernible and you could still get the same effect.

White balance needs work. Lighting as well, but I guess if you want to use ambient light, you get what you got.

thank you very much for the in-depth critique sir!

thats exactly what i was going for. i left the white balance the way it is because thats how it looked liked at the time. just a question though, is the white balance too cool?

Although these are of a high quality, I would have liked to have seen some slow shutter ball streak shots aswell.

corkneyfonz wrote in post #9996574
Although these are of a high quality, I would have liked to have seen some slow shutter ball streak shots aswell.

Good idea! I would to do that next time around!