Critique Required Street/Cityscape Type shots.

[alfie Wright]

Yesterday after I finished work, I had an hour or so in town before I had to be home for the kids. The sun was still high in the sky & the light was quite intense & not very flattering for candid portraits. Also town was full of scantily clad ladies, & while very nice eye candy, they weren't what I was looking to shoot. So I had a walk to the quiter parts of town looking for some contrasty type light & shadow stuff. I want to learn about light & be able to add to my images by using it better, or using it more creatively.

Whilst I quite like one or two of the images, has anyone got any tips , sites or tutorials to read, or any exercises that I could do to get more insight.

 

[Gavin Robert]

Alfie.

Have you tried concentrating on a couple of areas you're comfortable with? I ask because many people seem to constantly walk around expecting to come across a good candid photo opportunity rather than letting the opportunity come to them. Also, walking into someone else's scene gives a feeling of invasion and more often than not a rushed result whereas if you were static and letting the opportunity come to you there would be no invasion on your part and you'd have a whole lot more time to be considering when and how many times to press the shutter. You may even have time to re-compose the the shot.


If you take a look at your second image there is a great opportunity for playing with light. I've doctored your image to show what I see by removing the lightest areas which were probably masking your eyes to what was already there in the shadows, the reflections from the windows on the left hand building which is out of view.
If it were me and I had an hour I'd stake my place in this street and make a session of it. The way the light falls on those cobbles reminds me of the old 70's disco floors (not that I'm old enough to remember) which could produce some extremely interesting candid shots.

The left hand wall could be a good spot for candid side-on profiles by using the right hand building with dark brick as the back drop. Basically, look at it as your arena and think of every possibility but exclude none, try them all.



As for what others do have you considered creating a street photography folder on your PC and trawling google images for examples? Having a folder of street/candid images that you've chosen could represent what you're looking for and at the least give you some ideas.

 

[Brian Moore]

I like that first image a lot, Alfie. There is a bit of mystery about it and your eye is drawn to the gap between the buildings. The dappled light on the cobblestones is very interesting, too. Also, that she is in black and he in white is somehow congruent with she being in the shade and he in the light. Its a very nice image on several levels in my opinion.

 

[Lesley Jones]

I can't post much this morning, but I will try and come back later if I may. Just wanted to say that Gavin's edit is exactly what I was going to suggest for that image. I love playing with light and shade, but it can lead to processing nightmares. Watch for lighter areas on the edges which lead the eyes out of the frame. I think I understand what Gavin calls your arena. I find a place and then wait for an interesting person or two to come along. I rarely have to wait more than a few minutes. Sometimes it doesn't happen and I will move on. It's true there are more opportunities for light and shade in the summer, but the contrast can be a bit unforgiving. I took a load in Peru about 20 years ago where the sun is very high in the sky and to this day I still can't process the scans to my satisfaction. Winter light is softer and people are likely to be more anonymous

 

[alfie Wright]

WOW. Very many thanks.

Gavin, Thanks for your long, thoughtful & thought provoking post, it gives me plenty to think about. The images were just an exercise, playing around with the light & shadows & seeing what I would or could capture. I've never shot in such a bright condition before & it was about learning & working out how to take things further.

I really like what you did with #2 & it's not to far away from an idea I have that I'd like to explore. So thanks for that too, it helps me try to find a little direction. I think my inexperience really shows here, but you've given me a few things to try that should help.

I do have a folder of favourites of others work to use as reference & help & also just to look at & enjoy. I also have a folder where these above images & a few others are stored, that are sort of test images or half images that I intend to go back too when I have a better idea of how to make them work or when the half of the image becomes available. I think I need to shoot more & progress slowly. Very helpful post though.

Hi Brian,

Thanks & I'm glad you like #1. I quite like 3 or 4 of the images, but #1 is probably my favourite & I like that you mention all the things I saw in it. It's an interesting part of town with lots of big old victorian Lace mills/factorys & the light that day made the gap between the buildigs stand out & the reflection of dappled light in the shadows on the ground looked really nice, but I didn't really have much of an idea what to do with it. When the couple in black & white walked through & on the right sides matching the light & shadows it made it worth a shot or two. I just feel that with more experience I could of made a better image with what was there.

Hi Lesley,

Thanks for your input, it's all helpful to me at my stage. I don't think I really explained myself very well at the start of the thread, it should of read "help please what do I do with this bright light". I read somewhere that a good exercise is to take an image or two of something, the same thing, close to home every day for a year & that would give me a good insight into light. I guess it's practice, time & experience I need.

 

[Gavin Robert]

.....it helps me try to find a little direction.

We all have different methods and mind sets Alfie and as the old saying goes 'one man's meat is another man's poison'.

By all means take on suggestions and emulation but as soon as you think differently go with your thoughts and see if there's a personal stamp in there somewhere. The 'Alfie stamp'.