Ramzi, East Jerusalem DSC_5255

Hi Meir, thanks for posting your photograph. I'm not sure if this is more of a candid shot or a posed portrait. I'm going to assume it is the latter because of the way your subject is composed so I'll speak to that.

1. For a shot like this I would recommend opening up the aperture as much as possible so that you can throw some of the background out of focus. The blanket in the background has a very busy pattern and is distracting my attention from your subject's face. If you can't narrow the depth of field, then simplify the background. Your photograph is as much about the blanket as it is about the person.

2. When someone is wearing a hat, you are going to get shadow so you need to compensate for that. Why not leave it as is? Because your subject's eyes are the single most important part of a typical portrait. If they are not lit properly and focused, then you have lost the connection between the sitter and the viewer. In your case, I would have used some kind of reflector from below (even white posterboard) to throw some light into his eyes.

3. Also important in a portrait, although not essential, are catchlights. These are just a point of light that shows up in the eyes and adds life to your subject. Without them, eyes tend to look dark and lifeless. You can even use a little table lamp positioned in front of the subject to create this effect.

4. In general, it's better to shoot your subject at eye level as opposed to shooting down at an angle which you have done here. In the language of film when you shoot down on someone, it tends to make them appear smaller both in stature and importance.

4. There is very little contrast in this shot and you really need some strong contrast for an effective black and white shot. Even if his shirt goes to near-black, the definition in his arms and face will make the photography much stronger.

5. Your photograph is not optimally exposed. It is bordering on being overexposed. I would have stopped down a little to get more detail in the chair and his jeans. If his face was properly lit, as mentioned earlier, stopping down would have been an option here.

6. The composition itself, I think, could be tightened up a little. There is a lot of redundant space on either side of the subject. Even the headroom is a little much so you could crop a little left, right and above and not have to worry about cutting his hands off.

Just some things to consider. Let me know if you need anything clarified.

~ Steven

Steven; Thank you. The photo is not candid as you guessed. It is posed to the extent that I requested to photograh. The ISO, Equipment and exposure settings are found in the "details". Again Thank you very much for looking and for notes. /meir