Education...

Mr. Cai, I'm going to start by thanking you for taking such an interest in my photograph. I appreciate the straight forwardness of the critique and furthermore the fact that you haven't rated it a 3/3 under annonimity.

I understand your viewpoint and I'm pretty sure everybody else does too... by now. Still, I'm not sure the style of depiction you chose fits you best. I understand having issues with the concept itself, the political correctness, the title, the composition, even the light, but going as far as saying: "Apparently the photographer didn’t know what the composition is, what 1/3 rule is, and so on… ", "...don’t consider any photography techniques such as composition, lighting, focus, DOF and so on. ", "This picture didn’t have any photography’s techniques.", etc.

It seems you've given this particular shot too much importance and went beyond the picture itself to me...

Thank you,

Andi

 

Excellent.

An imaginative editorial image. Andi's made a strong, clear statement about a dynamic we may tend to ignore that involves father/son/television...the sometimes-resulting abuse of women.

Much fashion photography (like much pop music) encourages abuse of women...it's good to see a photographer directly addressing this.

It's hard to tell on-monitor about phototechnical qualities. There may be shadow problems (lost detail) but perhaps the image was laid-out with dark areas in order to include headlines or text.

It might be tough, but this might be better with a slightly less-wide-angle perspective: The dolls/discarded woman on the right seem over-sized vs the puppet woman.

Perhaps the same scene could be organized to be seen over the shoulder of the puppet woman, looking back at discarded woman/doll and father/son/TV.

Excellent photo.

My immediate take on this image is to like it. I'm a sucker for highly contrived compositions ( even if they aren't entirely successful ) :) Things wear off fast for me on this one though, I think due to the lack of motivation within the story and a predictable story telling technique that dehumanizes the subject , turning it into a cartoon. If victimization is the goal , then I need more insight into the endgame of it. The image becomes superficial for it's refusal to more deeply engage the disturbing human content implied in the subject matter .
The lighting is not helping, but it's not the reason for the images failing. It fails on a content level. The highly choreographed composition sets the tone for a set way of thinking, but the marionettes seem a willing victim within that context. I'm not feeling their abuse. It is all so trivialized within the shallow parameters of puppetry. There isn't anything new being said about the subject matter. I'm trying to understand where the photographer was coming from, perhaps he had more in mind.
Images like this, need to be discussed more from the 'why' than the 'how' point of view, I think. Even if the technical decisions were better, it would still lack the powerful content needed to pull this off.
Having looked at Andi's portfolio, I see that there is an interest in fashion related images. This type of tableau seems out of context with the other work. The sensibilities are similar , though, as there seems to be a fashion statement going on in this image that just might be it's downfall, if we want to take seriously, the content.

Andi:

 

I find your picture disturbing. Makes the aesthetics rate high!

 

Regards,

 

Deb

I think you have been very successful at depicting a concept here. It took a considerable amount of work, but it comes across very clearly to me.

much has been appreciated of the photograph, the concept and long have we pondered on the depths of philosophy that circumscribes the photo. Just the bit of appreciation that could have gone missing: the merging work is phenomenal. There might have been some inconsistency shadow work, but I am willing to ignore that gladly in the interest of creativity. Great job, congrats once again...

Why would anyone want to see in this (or in any image) the rule of third ?!? As long as BALANCE is achieved, and as long as leading lines and other parameters allow you to identify what the main subject is and what the story is, what exactly is the problem...?!
Photography by the book is inferior to GREAT photography. Applying rules is easy, understanding them is a little more complex, more interesting, and much more effective !

I frankly think that this is a powerful photo, even though roles could be reversed, so that it could be about a woman manipulating a man or men. (That happens, too.) In other words, there is more than one potential "message" or "lesson" here. One is free to read into the photo whatever one wants. That is what makes it art, and in my opinion it is a very powerful artistic statement with a substantial "subtext" of possible meanings and interpretations that go beyond the obvious.

Congratulations again, Andi. This is great work.

--Lannie

Concerning the fact that the week is almost over, I'd like to thank the photo.net staff, everybody who took the time to critique my shot and last but not least the crew that helped develop that actual photograph.

So, a big thanks to Soso for co-producing and also modeling for me, Bebe for assisting with the lighting and room decorating, Serge for make-up and hairstyle, Flavia, Cristina and Iamin for being wonderfull models.

Here is a funny shot of us creating the environment.

Andi Popescu

 

Probably that is the reason why this picture was failed! This picture didn’t have a clear concept or the photographer didn’t represent his idea clearly.

I don’t know how the photographer got his idea, but apparently there are some mistakes in this picture.

First the focus is not right. The focus should be on the child and the father, not on the puppet.

Second the relationship among the characters is not so clear. Please note it is in a family, this family treats their child in their own way. The woman on the strings is the child’s mother. Only a mother loves her son so much so that she 100% satisfies her son requirement. Who is the woman on the floor? The child’s sister! Apparently the photographer made a mistake here; he should use a little girl, not a grown woman; please note the little doll on the floor – a boy don’t play with a doll, this doll is a little sister’s doll!

So I said the concept of this picture is that a family spoiled their child in a funny way.

I admire Andi Popescu's image...

I'd have changed the perspective/lighting/tonality, and others here have equally worthwhile suggestions, but none of our suggestions would add creativity to what's already brilliant.

Andi Popescu didn't just make the usual conventional snapshots of vapid, pretty, free models....he had the guts and imagination to depict something hugely important in a highly imaginative way. Nice merges, too.

 

Andi - Striking photo. Your message comes across loud and clear.
I do not think that the coat rack works, it looks to be just filling dead space, perhaps moving the cameo to the right and down would fill it instead. The blurriness in the bottom right and of the pulley are distracting for me, as is the splotchieness on the wall (right middle), and the overused watermarks.
I love the shadow loss in the blacks, and the radio as the subject (maybe). The model on the floor screams "cast aside", well done.

I noticed way above a question you did not answer
You mention that this is a collage from 7 shots!
why did you have to do 7 shots for this?
I mean, this is why the image looks a bit messed up, the hanger has no shadow, the rope is not in focus and so on
if this would have been a single exposure I think all the minor problems would have vanished, or?

very well taken shot both in its technical application and composition. Treatment is good I think B&W adds a "vintage" feel to this which I like. overall well concieved and constructed

The picture has a clear concept and you represented your idea very clearly. For me or anyone else to suggest that the focus is not right and should be on the child and the father is way off base. This is your photograph and your artistic statement, not mine or any else's; changing the angle of the camera would be to change your artistic statement, and no one has the "right" to do that. Congratulations on the POW.

 

 

 

I have wanted and not wanted to comment on this photo from the very beginning. I wanted to comment because it is pretty unusual: not many photographs are so clearly made to depict a political statement. I did not want to comment, because, after the first appreciation was over, I felt that it was perhaps a bit too blatantly said - --- the puppet woman manipulated by the string, the rag doll woman thrown after use, ------- the patriarchal education ------- I still like the photo, but perhaps not enough to motivate me to write on it. As a feminist photograph, if I am allowed to say so, it seemed a bit cliche, but well stated. I appreciate the relaxed matter of fact attitude of the father ---- the string being pulled enthusiastically by the child who is ostensibly enjoying the puppet dancing at his order, the similarity of the dress of the woman now dancing with that of the woman on floor.... I have noticed all these and liked it.
But the discussion - thanks to Xiao and the critiques of Xiao .... it is like reading a real political debate, and well, I wanted to vote. In the first place, I suppose this image CANNOT be discussed without referring to its concept. I agree with all who said this. I wonder how anybody can miss the meaning ---
But then, I DO have a few queries. I find nobody commented on the photographs hung on the wall. One is of a scenery, the other of a painting of a lady of a typical period. To me these two pictures taken together, add to the statement of viewing women as a beautiful 'object' only, and to the political statement of exploiting nature and women together. Is it only me who sees it and am I over-interpreting things?
Secondly, the utility of the dress rack, and the decision to keep it where it is, is a bit questionable to me. What is meant by this furniture... that the women have kept their dresses there, or these are simple household things used by the man -- whatever, I do not understand its purpose either conceptually or esthetically.
Thirdly, the problem of shadows is rather apparent, though I would say that it does not hamper with my appreciation of the image - after all it is a statement - a viewpoint - a description of events from a particular angle.If somebody wrote it, perhaps the angles would have differed from sentence to sentence, just like the shadows.
Andi, your image is successful, because it arouses so much debate and emotion. I find you do not make many such images, but the one you have created has made its point, boldly. CONGRATULATIONS.

 

Certainly this has garnered the attention and stirred emotions. At first glance it looks disturbing, as you look more into the photograph it is definitely open to many interpretations.
I for one see this as manipulation and exploitation of women. Titled "Education"..... I hope it is not advocating it....If this is refelecting back in to the past it sure does capture the essence. The staging is period and well done.
However I can see how this can offend women. The Man and the boy (son) seem to be in control and as men they seem to be elevated above the opposite gender. While the women are either down by their feet on the ground or in submission of performing to their whims. The alcohol and the non chalant attitude of the males adds to the foreboding of whats to come next.
Despite the lack of technical finess in the shot, the photographer has succeeded in conveying "Evil" if that was the intent.

It's kind of weird but interesting...well done.

This had not occurred to me. There is perhaps the possible implicit interpretation of women as replaceable--by a younger, prettier, or more energetic model, etc. A somewhat analogous theme (in reverse) comes though in the American musical Man of La Mancha , although not in the original Quijote by Cervantes, with "Dulcinea" (the figment of the imagination of the deranged don Quijote) expressing herself most bluntly in her reality as Aldonza, the barmaid and sometimes prostitute: "One pair of arms is like another. I don't know why or who's to blame. I'll go with you or with your brother. It's all the same. It's all the same."

There are no strict parallels, of course. A prostitute is both used and a user. Domestic variations of using and being used are infinite. (Is marriage prostitution? Another tangent that comes up from time to time. . . . ) In spite of the lack of a perfect parallel, perhaps manipulation and exploitation thus imply a certain cynicism. I mention it because I had not thought about it, but Jayanti has, and it seems to be an idea worth pursuing, since this photo is about ideas more than it is about being a pretty picture. The point here is that Andi has perhaps even thought through the idea of manipulation in the photo all the way to the sameness in the general style dress worn by his models in order to convey an idea. That never occurred to me.

--Lannie

I absolutely love it... on many levels! The only characters that don't seem to fit real well are the boy and his father - in terms of dress. For some reason, the crewcut on the guy and both their attire needs to be more inline with the feel of the image. This is not a show stopper... just kind of jumped out at me.

 

Other than that, everything else is perfect - including that fact that it was done in B&W. Great job!

An interesting tableau. Contrived with some real imagination. It stands apart from so many other photos that appear day to day that it is hard to place it in perspective. I have to admire it as a piece of stagecraft as well as a symbolic study. Worthy of examination. And what more can one want of any still photo?

Maybe the one that gave you a 3/3 was a woman that thinks that this picture has some machista connotation (a father teaching a kid to treat woman as puppets??) . Who knows. I think this picture is subversive! Great job!

Just so amazing in the director role the photographer took in staging the entire scene. Brilliant concept of, as I see it, depicting the anger and attempt at revenge at a father whose wife has left him. Manipulating females dolls with what can be misconstrued as a fishing rod, seems to be his only way of empowering himself again. A well chosen image for making us feel and think. The purpose of art well defined in this image. Thanks for sharing.

I gave it a 7/7, but I think the 3/3 are bull. It is shame when someone puts their work up to get better and try to perfect their craft and someone who is trying to get the best ratings on the site gives them a bull rating then doesnt leave a critique on why they gave it a 3/3 something needs to be done about this seriously. AWESOME SHOT!

Grabs and holds one's interest and explores a subject with imagination, which is what I would love to see more of everywhere...My compliments. Please make more like this...