Critique Welcomed Candid Street Portraits.

alfie Wright

alfie Wright

Well-Known Member
I like these mate ... the ones of the chaps at least ...
Im not sure the one of the ladies works so well as there doesnt feel like there is a point to it as such
there also appears to be a small man growing out of the top of the one ladies head

the first one works because of the eye contact, it feels like a portrait
I would have perhaps copped a little more tightly loosing a bit more of his torso (just below the button of his jacket maybe??) and the thing top left of the frame (looks like pram wheels??)

the second is a nice shot because of the background, and his look away from it ... I like the fact that there is a something going on behind him but the focus of the camera and of his eyes is not on it.
The partially obscured eyes work really well too!

the third chap looks lonely, i think it would have worked better if he was either by him self or the angle was a little different and what people were in the background were further away. I do like his hand in the shot though!

I like the last, but find the thing to the right of the frame a touch distracting ... otherwise i think it works very well

As for the PP ... this is not just a dog at you, i mention it to most people...
watch those vignettes and how they effect highlights ... I find that sort of greying of highlights a bit false looking and rather than focusing the eye to the centre of the frame it actually attracts the eye
If you have LR try playing with the highlight slider on the vignette control
maybe try a touch of clarity too

I really think with the balls you have for doing this you are on to something good here!!
 
Hi Hamish,

Thanks for your kind words & your detailed constructive criticism, it's very helpful to me at this stage. I quite enjoy the getting close & the candid nature of this type of shot. It takes me a few shots of a less intimate nature before getting a bit closer & am quite mindful of upsetting people. I find it quite a buzz, but also a little nerve wracking too. I pass through town most days & have always people watched, so this just seems an extension of that. My only concern is I don't want to upset anyone, so I often thank them afterwards & sometimes chat a little too.

The captures are pretty random at this stage i.e. If I spot an interesting looking face or person, I try to approach unseen trying to find an angle or background & quicly take a shot or two when the moment shows itself. I have been looking around for more ideal backgrounds, but the interesting people don't seem to walk past as I wait.
With the fact that the background isn't always as good as it could be, & the things you point out, I need to pay more attention to my cropping. I didn't even notice the pram wheels in the first image or think about the wall & it's shadow in the last image. So that gives me something to work on.

I will also have a look at the vignettes. I don't really want them to be distracting. What I'm trying to achieve is a darker image, but without blocking out the blacks & darker tones, that some seem to do.

Thanks for the pointers, mate, very much appreciated.
 
No problem!
I really think you are on to something here, its the eye contact, or at least connection with the eyes and gaze that i like in a lot of them it becomes a portrait as much as a street shot if you see what i mean! Whatever it is in you that gives you the confidence to do this to this extent should definitely be pursued i think!
If you want to send me a raw (or at least unedited) file ill show you the sort of pp i think works for this sort of image ... i know the darker look you are going for and think i can help with it!
Do you use lightroom, I cant remember...
 
I use the older LR 2.7 & I know in LR3 the greyscale tab changed to B&W so perhaps they are a little different, but I hope I can learn something from this.

I'd love to see your take on PP this image mate. I'll sign up to Mediafire & send you the RAW file (well I shoot DNG), just bare with me while I work out how this all works.
 
Thanks, Rob. Street portraits seem a litle subjective, so I'm glad you like them.
 
God damn Pentax and their very sencible choice of raw format ...
The more I read/see of Pentax kit, the more thier approach just makes sense!
Anyway, looking forward to having a tinker ... I'll use lr3 and save the settings as a preset ... Also so the settings will be familiar so if i take screen shots of the settings incase the preset doesn't work backwards to v.2
 
Pentax use there own PEF RAW files , but give you the option to shoot in DNG. My LR 2 didn't like the PEF files so I just shoot DNG & hope there's no difference in quality from PEF.

I've uploaded the file, Hamish, how do I share or send it to you?
 
Yes I see now. Hmm there's 4 options I think.. I'll try this one first :)

IMGP3048.DNG
 
No rush, mate, & thanks for the help.
 
Props again Alfie - you're getting in there and getting it done! :)

The only comment I'd add would be backgrounds - try to get a less intrusive backdrop and/or use narrow DOF to blur it out.

This may mean changing the angle of the shot - or getting lower or higher to change the perspective

Or getting in super close as you mentioned, and filling the frame more
 
Thanks Chris,

I think I've away to go with these sort of images yet. They're a little rushed & "snapped at" atm. I think with more practice & confidence I will have a little more time to capture the moment I'm looking for, even though that moment is very brief. More experiance hopefully will add to my decision making with the composition i.e. angles of perspective, background & DOF.

Your input is great & helps me to focus on what to try or look for in capturing these images & hopefully improving them. I think the decisions on comp in the available few seconds is perhaps the key here, but the confidence to get closer & fill the frame tighter would help too I suspect.

I intend to play around a little with lens focal lengths & perhaps prefocusing with the zone system, but to keep the subject in tight focus I would need to stop down to F/8, 11 etc to have to DOF I need, but this would then effect the OOF backgrounds. Hmmm... plenty to play around with & think about.

Thanks again for the input.
 
Lovely street portraits! Personally I wouldn't be terribly concerned about the backgrounds Alfie. You are right in on your subjects and they attract the viewer by their look. They're magnetic. I'd say, just keep shootin'.
 
Thank-you for the kind words & input, Brian & Lesley.
 
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