New Joiners - People #395

They aren't comfortable shots to make I agree but you've done a good job. You have managed to engage your subject who appears to be looking at camera. People will always look away or make a gesture if they don't want to be photographed. Set yourself the challenge to speak with people or make a gesture yourself to see if it's ok if you don't speak the language. They can only say no! Well done and I look forward to the next shots you make!

Creatively an interesting shot and I like what is going on with the styling here and the closed eyes. The lighting is quite flat and I think the idea of the shoot could be enhanced with some contrast and variation in the lighting or with some post production. You say 'the lights' so I presume you have more than one, you could try just using one light and seeing how that darkens one side or moving them around to create different moods. Just an idea as I think you have a really good base here for something really interesting and lighting plays a huge role in such a shot. Well done for submitting it and hopefully you'll show us some more in the near future...

Such a strong profile in silhouette and it gives a great sense of the scene with the trees on the horizon line. A couple of things you could do to strengthen this would be to come back a little bit and lower yourself/camera to capture more of the profile against the sky so the chin isn't hitting the horizon. It appears you've made a little post work around the head to brighten the sky. You could try giving the whole sky this look with 10/20% less to brighten it all up without the halo effect. It got a great feel to it so I hope you submit some more!

Good shot, the boy has a great natural pose and look. I like the black and white conversion and I would be tempted to try some more contrast here. You can see that lovely light across his face and you could work with those highlights and shadows to create some extra mood. Great.

Great expressive shot. I like the autumnal feel to this and your other images you've submitted, they are all strong shots. If you have access to photoshop or lightroom I think you could apply some adjustments to help these pop a little more as they look a little flat. All the detail is there and I think you would see a huge difference. Well done for putting in a strong set and we look forward to seeing more in some other competitions.

This is a really strong shot, wonderful light coming in from the top right of frame and great colour palette. The eyes draw you in immediately due to your clever lens and aperture choice. I wonder if you could explore the theme without the tape, I understand your approach here but perhaps its worth trying the photograph without and exploring the subject differently.

Striking shot. I wish I knew more about it and urge you to give some detail to the images... It opens up many questions due to the unknown... A militant group, a celebration...? It has a slightly sinister feel to it, perhaps because of the face covering of the front man. Compositionally and the light created from the flares is quite something. It makes a very strong documentary image and is first place because of this reason.

Very strong portrait this and I think that is down to the connection you have created with him to get the shot. His eyes are so engaged with you. Im glad you kept it colour, its so easy to convert to black and white but I really feel the colour here adds to the images strengths. Just watch the highlights on the boys hood in lightroom/photoshop. Great portrait well done.

I enjoy looking at this image and find myself studying each person! It would make a great large format print. You could try cropping to a square with this shot just to eliminate those top corners which can be a little distracting - this would contain the sitters and I feel strengthen it slightly.

I really like this photograph. Is it a self portrait? At first I didn't see your right arm reaching out but now I see it. Wow this is fantastic, It has such a classic feel to it. Please look at the work of Bill Brandt, his subtle nudes. Iv'e just realised what this reminds me of. Great shot well done.

It's amazing how a film shot stands out in the sea of digital shots. Something about that quality but on top of that I like the candid nature of the photograph, the off camera smile and the location. Also its good to see a person framed to the edge instead of the centre frame, doesn't always work but this does rather well.

For me the space you've given around the boy to reveal the location is what gives this real strength. Its works perfectly in this format. The light and colours are fantastic and the boys face perfectly lit from the light coming through the trees. You could try bringing down the light of the location a little bit, just to make the boy pop more against it. Just my thoughts and something I would be tempted to try.

As Im sure you do, I encourage your 10 year old to keep making pictures! It's a brilliant composition with the train running behind the guard and dropping out of focus. It has a great nostalgic atmosphere with the steam and the guards expression. Great your son loved it as it is, shows he knows what he likes! Later down the line he can look into photoshop/lightroom to make adjustments to images if he wishes to help create even more atmosphere. Well done.

That is the perfect light you're right. There is a lovely golden edge to both the people. Not sure if you have access to photoshop or lightroom but you could give it a turn so the horizon is straight and add a little more contrast to really lift the shot.

There's something about this image that has stopped me and made me come back! The setting is amazing, that big window giving the light but also the dialogue between the people. I look at it and think about how it could be improved and perhaps lifting the shadows in post production would help bring out some of the detail in the room, this would help balance with the bright light and snow outside.