henk Posted August 4, 2002 Share Posted August 4, 2002 To try and make my point a little clearer, when i firts went to artclass, the first thing my teacher asked me was, WHAT DO YOU THINK IS GOOD ABOUT YOUR PICTURES..... Is this just something he said to open a discussion or did he think we should analise our own work? In other words, should we be comparing several back shots, and find out why some are better then others? Greetings, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sliu Posted August 4, 2002 Share Posted August 4, 2002 <a href="/users/SLIU/"> <img src="/users/SLIU/sliu-02-01-12-17-41-02.jpg" border="0"> </a> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
todd frederick Posted August 4, 2002 Share Posted August 4, 2002 Two backs.<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymond_tai Posted August 4, 2002 Share Posted August 4, 2002 There are no hard and fast rules. Here is an example where a person's back takes up almost a third of the frame but she is not the subject but rather part of the scene directing the eyes towards the subject. Just use your imagination and ask yourself whether it takes you anywhere? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam_buteux Posted August 4, 2002 Share Posted August 4, 2002 I think that a lot of the pics here are environmental portraits where the picture is not of someone but about that person�s relationship to their environment. Also I think that in the very first picture it draws attention to what the people are looking at. <br><br> I would put forward the following rule (noting that breaking the rules is a good idea) <br> <b>1.</b> </i>That the person or people should not take up all of the frame allowing the viewer to see the environment </i> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arthuryeo Posted August 4, 2002 Author Share Posted August 4, 2002 Splendid comment, Adam. Your language was clear and super precise --- no hiding around the bushes because you know exactly what you want to say. Thank you for sharing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arthuryeo Posted August 4, 2002 Author Share Posted August 4, 2002 How about <a href="http://www.photo.net/photo/720162">this</a>? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henk Posted August 5, 2002 Share Posted August 5, 2002 I dont know if it is pointless to continue this discussion, but i think some context in the environment should be there.... Maybe even an obvious context. Or is using a wide to shoot people in the back enough? Is the context of Arthurs last pic clear? Does it need the still of the boy's back. Maybe we dont need guidelines at all and its just a decisive moment, only needing an esthetic evaluation at that time? Then again maybe i think too much ;)P... Greetings, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arthuryeo Posted August 7, 2002 Author Share Posted August 7, 2002 I guess the overriding principle I hear is context, context and context; without it, the photo just doesn't make sense. Thank you all for the contributions. <p>PS: the 2 shots I attached in this thread was photographed by none other than our good friend, Henri Cartier-Bresson.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robd Posted August 8, 2002 Share Posted August 8, 2002 But I'll throw one in anyway.. <br> <br> <img src="http://www.photo.net/photodb/image-display?photo_id=731587&size=md"> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael_bender Posted August 16, 2002 Share Posted August 16, 2002 I liked the idea you offered for discussion, it being an attempt to understand something and formulate it as a principle. That's how one learns - by analyzing successful photos, then trying ideas himself. <p> Here is <a href=http://www.photo.net/photo/862612&size=lg> my example</a> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom_schonhoff Posted August 23, 2002 Share Posted August 23, 2002 This has been a fascinating thread, all the more so because it gets us away from the recent spate of photo-manipulations and back to the basics of photography - making, finding and celebrating images framed by the world that surrounds us. <p> On to the topic at hand... We tend to think that the characteristic features that instantly identify our subjects to us are their faces; we're tuned and evolved to see things that way. We see so much more, but our own recognition is obscured from us by the glare of the all-important face. We tend not to see, or seek out, all that we're capable of seeing so long as the individual stares out from the photo, demanding that we look them in the eye. <p> As I've shared my Antarctic photos with friends and family, a couple keep coming back to please me uniquely - both pictures of penguins shot from behind. They reveal the innate "penguin-ness" of each subject in a whole new way, stripping away the unique power of their faces to convey individuality to reveal so much more. Seeing them this way, I'm desperate to return and photograph them in new ways - choosing my subjects more by posture, shape and behavior to reveal both the more complete individuality of the birds and the archetypes behind them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom_schonhoff Posted August 23, 2002 Share Posted August 23, 2002 Here's that penguin shot, properly sized. Wish I knew how to delete the first post but can't find instructions. Sigh.<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arthuryeo Posted August 23, 2002 Author Share Posted August 23, 2002 Hey Tom, <p> Great to see your photos again, I remember you from your POW with 4-penguins. I think the one you just posted clearly expressed the <i>dejected</i> emotion of that animal. Perhaps it was the posture or the shadow that followed it, the effect was very much materialized in your photo.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maria_s. Posted August 30, 2002 Share Posted August 30, 2002 Back shot from a very different angle :0)<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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