bens

Massimo! A stirring subject and simple, brilliant composition that isolates the person beautifully. Your decision to get down on the ground was wise, as it also gives the subject his dignity while also showing how he much prostrate himself or money.

yes, it stands out, good composition to have her slightly off center looking in the direction of the empty space, the light on her eyes and face works well (shooting on a slight downtilt worked great for that), the toning is very good, her hand included adds to the story, well done.

ah, so this is yours! I think this is a fabulous shot, as it gives a real feeling of insight into a kind and generous fellow. i'm a big fan of an off center crop, i like the toning, the little catch light in the eyes brings us to them readily, the white shirt is done well, the blur isolates him nicely.

i guess everyone's taste is different, i like the empty, darker space on one side, the light coming in britest on the other. the stylized pose works well because he seems natural, this is very well done in tones as well. good and thoughtful work.

hi martin, glad you took a look. the rose-ear problem can be solved in a number of ways, but here's one. create a layer mask that masks everything but the rose; in other words the rose is the only thing that you reveal in a white brush in the right hand box, everything else stays black. then use levels to darken the rose until the ear is distinguished from it. then merge or flatten.

terrific shot, hilarious story. the lighting, the background, the pose, the solid blue against the vibrant graffiti, the people above have said it better that i can.

bring down the yellow is my suggestion. its a cute idea.

the rendering is very soulful and well done, but she looks unhappy, and it makes me sad. perhaps that is your intent?

i would adore it too. consider toning down his shirt a little.

outstanding, thanks for sharing. terrific light and composition.

Marin, I've rarely used flash for "action" and heard it works well to freeze subjects (like the man here) at slow shutters. This really proves it for me, thanks for teaching me something I can really try to use. How did you avoid shadow from the flash here?

Martin, I have a possible solution for you if you have photoshop. After years of paintstakingly trying to figure out how to manipulate the images I did, someone here taught me layer masking, which changed my hobby life. You can blur the background, adjust the brightness, in less than ten minutes with layer masks. I wrote what I do in the discussion of a photo, and posted a link on my community member page to it. Check it out. A little confusing at first, but once you get the hang of it, its easy. If you like it, just pass it on sometime.

Dominick, I like the light and expression on his face a lot, suggest a tighter crop, as the brightness around him, unavoidable given the time of day, distracts some, and I'd rather see more of his face in the frame.

nicely done! I like that it takes a moment to understand the perspective and what i am looking at; its interesting without understanding that, so it becomes something worth sitting with for awhile.

cute, can't quite understand why the background, but I am sure you have your reasons. how about the last person holding a pic of you to bring it around full circle?

he looks like a frisky! The top of his head appears a little too bright, can't make out details there. Suggest blurring the background even more too. but you have really captured the dog's cuteness, its a picture that makes me smile.

A lovely, well composed candid of an interesting moment for those of us trying to retain our youth and vigor, thanks for sharing it, it stands out. The blur helps, did you add this or is it in the original? What shutter speed did you use if it is the latter?

excellent, like the lively expression so closely captured and he's got an interesting face.

p, carl told me you should see them in all circles. now, the only way i can do that is to calibrate my monitor in a way that i am thinking reduces the contrast too much, so i readjusted after last leaving you a note and agree with you, i can see in the brightest, but can't quite make out the circle in the darkest. right or wrong, i'm going to leave it like this for now, seems most in line with things like top photos here and yahoo news photos.

 

as for your photo, i don't see what i saw before, but i can make out a swath of black running the length of the page on the far right, perhaps the last 1/10th of the frame, that is darker than what is to the left of it, slightly, but i can see it. everything is uniform though, no spots, just two different shades on the right.

p., i am trying to calibrate my monitor and not sure i've done it well. if you don't mind, take a look at my latest post, "the politician" (yes, your influence, a re-post), and see my note in there, tell me what you see. I used a calibration tool today that seems in line with some and not with others. on this, on the right its not all black in this new calibration. there's a gray-green streakines about 4/5s to the right running pretty much down the frame. but it really could be just that i removed substantial contrast, i don't know yet. here's the tool, carl root gave it to me and tells me i should see a circle in every square. see what you think.

simple, attractive, classic pose, nice uptilt. try a noise reduction software, like neat image, i think i see some noise in the blue that distracts.

Spectacular, family is looking at me funny cuz they can't understand why i leapt up and starting applauding . . . the slightly uptilt, the slight off center, the special light on the eyes, the isolation, it all works very very well. there's some funny spotting on the right side background, not sure if you added it or if its there in the original.

like the pose, the colors, its a nice piece of work as is; some suggestions though -- sharpen here and there (i typically sharpen mouth and eyes), consider an off center crop, with her a little on the right.

I love her relaxed expression and the informality, the tones are attractive and the clarity is good. I do not like her hand, I wish it were either down or on the side of her face rather than in front of it.

ah, you are truly skilled with your camera and with people -- such a pose, it takes real connection to evoke this. i agree some sharpening helps, though i think less than the revision posted -- but be careful always about blowing out highlights like the beard, which are very well done in your posting but a little hot in the revision i think.