John with a photo of himself and Patricia

I think the idea for the image is good, an old man holding a picture of himself in younger years. But I think it would have been better had you included his face. It might have be worthwhile to see if increasing the contrast on the framed photo would look good or not.

I have a photo of his whole face and I will post that.  I liked this one, let me know what you think when you see the other.

Thx

Cynthia

Cynthia, this is a marvelous photograph. Of the two, I much prefer this one.

One of the things that we are saying when we photograph another person is that we find them interesting or valuable enough to record for posterity or simply for our memory. It is always good to be recognized for our value—that is the gift that you are giving John. It appears that you have been photographing John over a period of time. All of the photographs are done with respect and dignity—an admirable trait in a photographer. It is a wonderfully touching story of a gentleman that has about lived up his life yet still is willing to share his meger existance with a photographer.

The only thing that I see in the photograph of the full face is the two photographs on the wall behind him. They are in this photograph but much less noticeable. It is obvious that John holds a regard for photographs, for what photographs bring to him. I am assuming that Patricia has been out of the picture for some time and this is his way of remembering, honoring a prior time in his life, a time that he still holds important. If anyone can look at this photograph and not have their heart touched they have a problem.

By not having the full face you have added a universality to John, the ability for the viewer to substutite someone like John that they have encountered in life. 

After having seen both I agree with your choice. The version with his full face has a completely different feel to it.

I think Gary hit the nail on the head that not including all of his face allows the viewer to complete the image in their mind. I had pictured him looking into the camera with a confident look, no idea why. The actual image didn't fit with what I had expected to see.

The contrast between the B&W photo and the color in your photo adds a lot.  It helps the viewer know that the photo is from years ago.  Had you shot your photo in B&W too, this effect would be gone.  I like this double portrait, and I like imagining what has happened during the period between the two photos.