Critique Welcomed Street Portraiture - First attempts.

[alfie Wright]

I've not posted any images for a while, so here's a couple from yesterday.

I had a couple of spare hours yesterday afternoon so thought I'd have a crack at some candid street stuff. I was vey impressed by a recent post showcasing Thomas Leuthards street style & e-books so thought I'd try out his method of capture. TBH I missed a few potentially nice shots, due to losing my nerve at the last minute. So I turned my attension to a couple of buskers that seemed easier targets. TBH I found it quite a buzz, so I expect I'll be having another go pretty soon.


Dubstep by alfie2902, on Flickr



The Blues Man by alfie2902, on Flickr


Very happy for critique here & I would appreciate any advice, tips, websites, tutorials etc on converting to B&W in LR2. I.E. just convert to greyscale & play around with the sliders or Desaturate using those sliders instead. Any pointers peeps.

 

[Chris Dodkin]

Alfie - very nicely done, looks like you've caught the bug

I like Dubstep - the guy has connected with you, but is not posing.

I think The Blues Man has a bit of a fixed grin - maybe ask to take a shot as he plays, so he's 'in action'?

B&W looks crisp - and I prefer B&W for street - maybe add a slight vignette to help focus the attention on the subject.

Just subtle, you'll be amazed at how a little vignette can impact the feel.

What do you think about a square crop for the pair?

 

[Rob MacKillop]

Good shots. But ... did you pay them? I used to busk (quite a few decades ago!) and used to get annoyed when photographers would snap away, but give nothing in return. Just asking...

 

[alfie Wright]

Hi fella's thanks for the input.

Chris,

The Blues Man will always be hard for me to 'catch', as I often stop & listen to a couple of songs on my way to & from work. He's a very smiley character & always smiles or nods to me as I walk past or stop to listen, he's really very good. In the shot he is mid-song & I tried to catch him quickly as I walked buy, but perhaps waiting for a better shot might of been a better option here.

Also, there already is a slight vignette applied to both images, but from your comment I suspect it's to slight? I will try with a heavier vignette next time. At the moment with PP I'm trying to be gentle as I have a tendency to want to over brighten & over work my images, so I keep knocking the sliders back off a little to try to keep things natural looking.

I really like square crops, Chris, but didn't even think to apply one to these images & I think you are right & they both may well of worked better with a square crop. I now also think they both could be straightened up a little too, after looking for longer.

Thanks very much for the input mate! Very much appreciated, as it gives me more insight on what to look for with my images to try & improve them.

Rob,

Rest easy mate, I gave them some change as recompense. I often listen & pay a little to the Blues Man, he helps me unwind!

 

[Gavin Robert]

Just a thought Alfie, but have you considered getting a side profile of them to include some street scene?

To me and this is a personal feeling, I consider the street a buskers office so I would want at least a hint to who/what he or she is commanding. Even better if they're being totally ignored and you're able to slow the shutter down to get some motion blur from passers by.

Have you got a remote control Alfie? Reason I ask is I'd consider setting up a camera down low next to him and ask if I could take a "just a few images" for a fiver. Move the camera around every 100 shots or so and come away with a card full of goodness!
If anything it will build confidence in approaching others once one person has accepted you.

Lovely crispness to the images.

 

[adam hoskins]

Nice shots. Think the fact that they are aware your taking the shot takes away a bit of the imagery. The key board player would of made a great side on shot looking down the street with really sallow dof. Could of blown out the light using it as a halo so under exposing the subject, if you wanted to be a bit arty. But besides tese little things good shots crisp, think a little tweaking and your there.

 

[Lesley Jones]

I think you've had some great advice already. I don't know what to add, but these are really good for a first attempt. If you are serious about converting to black and white, you couldn't go far wrong with Silver Efex. It's not cheap, but in my humble opinion, it's the best!

 

[Rense Haveman]

Nice crisp shots!

 

[alfie Wright]

Wow! Many thanks for all the input, I do like it here.

There's some great suggestions for things for me to try out in the future, so thanks again for those.

I feel I should explain a little of where I'm at with this. Chris Dodkin posted this thread http://www.realphotographersforum.c...about-street-photography-thomas-leuthard.html about Thomas Leuthards style, which inspired me to have ago at 'his' style of shooting which is stealthy, tight in Portraiture waiting for eye contact, take the shot & then quickly walk away, as well as a little more traditional street he shoots. Being new to photography I haven't really found my own style yet, so these shots try to emulate Thomas Leuthard progressive idea of street.

Since reading the thread, I've read up a little on the history of street photography starting with Henri Cartier-Bresson & some of the more modern street shooters such as Eric Kim & Alex Webb & am starting to get a feel for what street is & means to different people. I have lots & lots to explore & learn & all the above suggestions are very helpful & give me things to try, which will hopefuly improve the images I try to shoot & help me along in trying to find the best compositions to make the subject work.

 

[Hamish Gill]

Great shots!
And with the research you are doing I am really looking forward to seeing your style develop!

 

[Gavin Robert]

The way you're approaching this subject sounds ideal to me Alfie. Taking what you can from various sources of inspiration and not predicting a particular personal style will give you so much scope for variations and a more confident style once there.

Your energy alone sounds as though you will cut the mustard so keep up the good work.