Critique requested:

[matt_m__toronto_]

i love the pose and look of the 3 boys, and i'm able to over look the

child on the right bending down. without him though, i think this

would definately be a keeper. but, is it bothersome to you?

 

YAY or NAY?

cheers

[bj_bignell]

YAY, for sure. The boy on the right provides a humourous contrast to the other three. A wonderful shot!

[lee hamiel]

I like it a lot - 2 photogenic types, one sort of at the rear and the fourth - either not or playing around - captures kids nicely.

 

Cropping him out would not kill this shot either

[35mmdelux]

really nice as is. i've gotten some of famous people and they're never posed the way I would prefer exactly, its the nature of the business.

 

Who says that everybody MUST face the camera or smile?

[james_baker6]

Looks fine either way. You can completely remove the bending boy without cropping using PhotoShop.

[richard_ilomaki]

Hello Matt. welcome back.

 

YAY

 

An eclipse of the moon always makes a picture interesting.

 

cheers

[anhtu]

Nice shot Matt. The Boy looking side on gives it a bit of zest. Maybe you should have included the feet of the front boy - but not critical. A keep for me yes. Well done.<div></div>

[hashim a]

I saw the photo before I read what you wrote... I had to do a double take with the kid on the right.

 

Overall... I dig the shot.

[lutz]

Definitely Yay - it's the fourth boy who makes it a keeper.<p>

Just the slightest cropping/burning/dodging to make it perfect, IMHO. Cheers.<div></div>

[frank granovski]

Yay. I would rate it with a 5 - 4. The quality is good, the background is good but the kids are posing for you. A better picture would have been with the kids doing something more natural, playing or something.

[vivek iyer]

YAY

 

It is the 4th boy that makes the picture. Otherwise, it would have been "too posed".

 

Nice!

[c_d5]

This photo is very good, Matt. YAY. Spot on exposure, perfect clarity and sharpness on the faces, natural expression, I would say one of those decisive moment picture. Any story behind the pic?

[Alex_Es]

Matt,

 

I think this shot is exactly right. Lutz's tweek is fine too. It's all a matter of taste at this point. The boys are great. The boy bending over makes this a more than the usual picture of boys. The background is important. The photo reminds me of guess what--? The HCB shot of the boy carrying the wine bottle. The background looks all wrong until you start reading the photograph closely. Then it all comes together. With you shot the background jumps right in immediately, at least to my eye.

[david j.lee]

i like it just the way it is. maybe j-lo instead of the kid, but very nice.

[gerald_widen]

I like it very much. I keeper. I might just crop the top very slightly maybe 10%.

[gabrielma]

<i>"A better picture would have been with the kids doing something more natural, playing or something."</i><BR><BR>

Looks natural to me. With many children there is nothing more natural than <i>finding</i> them pose in front of your camera; to the point that you need to start playing reverse psychology so they can get out of the way.

[gabrielma]

It's a great shot. I think you should have waited a bit for the moon to have set, but it's all good; I like Lutz's handling of the tones too. I like how the viewer is lead down nicely to their stares.

[Prof-K]

yay yay yay! Lovely shot Matt!!

[andrew_lee2]

What Lutz said- the fourth boy definitely adds to the shot. Good one.

[love4leica]

YAY after Lutz magic touch. Much better NOW.

[dennis_couvillion]

Wonderful shot... particularly with the fourth kid. Well done.

 

Dennis

[matt_m__toronto_]

cheers guys. thanks lutz for your go at it. looking at both versions, i may try one meeting in the middle. will have to see how they both print.

[travis1]

a landscape version encompassing the 4th kid would be nice too. The current crop on the far right cutting off the 4th kid is a little abrupt imo.

[mattalofs]

Yay. Print it. It'd be a keeper with just the three boys. With the fourth it's just a different keeper.

[frank uhlig]

The boy bending down is no problem for me, but the in-the-face wide angle shot and the bulbous noses etc bother me. It does not add to the picture. A bit further off with a narrower lens would do it for me. But who am I to pick nits, and maybe that overemphasis is what you want and like ... I do not.