Being Noticed

thanks for ratings/critiques.

Matt-- The little girl is perfect, her pose, her expression, the way she is seeing you (and, therefore, us) is great. In this case, I think you might have stepped back and included the family, making her still the centerpiece. As it is, IMHO, it feels a little cut off to me. You might also consider just cropping in on her and making it a portrait, and a superb one at that.

Thanks Fred, for taking the time and effort to critique this photo. I appreciate it.

 

"I think you might have stepped back and included the family, making her still the centerpiece."

 

That might have worked, but it was Street and taken on the fly and you know how transient these shots can be. I was lucky to have caught what i did. And had I backed up a little it would have taken extra time and I would most likely have lost that look on her face, and might have even earned the unwelcome notice of her parents ("why is that man taking a picture of our daughter?")

 

"You might also consider just cropping in on her and making it a portrait, and a superb one at that."

 

Actually I did try that (and thanks for the "superb"), but it just didn't work for me like this version does. Why this works for me is because with the legs of the other people visible in the shot clearly facing away from the camera, it shows exactly what was happening--that there was a private little moment where i connected with this little French girl who was wondering about the one-legged man in a wheelchair (I get a lot of candid shots because people are too busy adjusting to the sight of me to worry about what I am doing). THe viewer doesn't know about the appearance of the photographer, so you get to make your own interpretation of why this beautiful child is looking at you.

 

The result is (IMO)like seeing a fawn stop and look at you while the rest of the herd of deer are moving along unaware of your presence.

 

And for me, the icing was the red jacket.

Cool, Matt, thanks for providing your insights. A funny story you will appreciate. My dad has a a clever longtime friend, Mel, who was wheeling my dad into a restaurant one day, noticing the typical stares from people, so Mel looks right back at them and says "Too much sex!" I think most of them turned away.