Child Outside House

I liked the elements in this scene and took a few quick snapshots as

I was passing by. Cropped a bit on the right to eliminate distracting

elements and a bit at the bottom to remove one step. All critiques

appreciated.

just one day with an empty Stieglitz gallery. Thanks for filling the void, Niranjan :)

 

This is an interesting take. But I wonder what the clutter was on the right, since in the process of cleaning up the main actor nearly lost his arm. Is he going to wash? Or put down the bag? Whatever it may be, a bit more space, in this case some wall separating the white thing from the border, could have helped. Any chance that you could show the original? Without which there is of course no telling what is best. As it is, the story seems unfinished, remains untold.

 

Cheers,

I like the composition and the soft tones. The white specs on the door are distracting though and the white bag is a little too bright. The child looks charming (cute). The condition of the building brings up questions.

Since i've never been to India I don't know what the normal living conditions though, so I am left to use my imagination. Your photo has me thinking more in broad terms of how other people in this world live.

NIce shot, just clean it up a little.

Jesse

Here's the (almost) full frame version. This one looks different because I was fiddling around with the TIFF, so it might have different contrast/color balance etc. Removed the dust specks in the dark entryway.

 

Ahh, now we see a confusing vision in which you started with. I like the cropping work you did it really brought in the subject. Oh and thanks for taking out the specks in the door way.

Ok, I can see where your crop came from, fair enough. May I suggest another crop? Not better, but just different. I included the wooden pole to separate the child in action from the border. It could be cropped higher, with some more breathing space above the kid. What do you think?

Jeroen and Jesse, thanks for your comments. I like including the pole, but I would still prefer the "portrait" orientation with a "tall" doorway that emphasizes the void. Two pictures that I took that day (the monkey one, and this one) that needs heavy cropping. Shows laziness.

 

Jesse, about your comment on "living conditions": India is different from developed countries in that there is a wider range in financial ability and hence a wider range of living conditions. This house, I would classify as probably belonging to a poor family (but not the abject poor). This house is probably sturdy enough to shelter these folks from the elements. Opulent, it is not. They most likely do not have much furniture not complex footwear. They are probably agriculturists -- this place has tons of strawberry fields. They could also be surviving because of the tourist economy there. I don't know where I am going with this, so I'll stop here. If you want to chat about India, drop me an email.

Niranjan, thanks for the extra info. It helps place the photo better. Seeing the uncropped shot helped greatly.

 

I knew I was not getting my thoughts across. What I was thinking was that this photo was making me ask more questions than the photo could tell. I think this is a good point about your photo. Its making me interested in you subject and livelihood. Its a good photo.

Hmmmm, I'm not sure that this pic does much for me. As Jeroen mentions in the first response, there is a feeling that something is missing, yet when the original pic is reinstated there is a feeling of clutter.

 

I agree with Jesse that the boy is cute, and he could be an interesting subject in himself, but I think the circumstances have conspired to rob you of a good shot. It could all be so different if he was facing the other way.

Thirumale,

 

I love the original version you posted, with the cropping. I looked at it when you first posted it and thought it was great then, and I like it as much now. There are probably some minor things that could improve it in printing/color adjustment, etc, but I am not expert in that stuff, and so I defer.

 

I don't like the cropped version suggested above; I like the original composition the way you cropped it: the boy is in the corner, with the shoe and the steps leading to the dark doorway. Oddly, I think the porthole/hole in the wall helps really make the composition by breaking up the wall and providing another simple element.

 

It's weeks after I first saw it and I still feel both the rightness of the composition and the treatment of the subject.

 

Bravo!

I like the colors in this one a lot, but something bothers me about the child facing out of the frame, and what is he/she doing? I didn't know it was a bag till someone mentioned it, and I can't quite make out what's on the step. I think I might have waited for the child to be in a different position.