New Joiners - People #521

Here's a nice use of props and frame. A well balanced portrait where the sitter's hands quietly echo the shape of the letter. Even though it's on an iPhone, it has a decent framing and I very much like the tilt of the camera. It reminds me a little of Gary Winogrand's experiments with the horizon that was copied into the 1990s by many Danish photojournalists. Overall a strong and impactual image. Well done.

I like this - especially the face of the nearest character and his expression. Overall however,. I think the frame can't decide what it's about - is it him or his friends or people begging for coins? I think one of the issues here is framing and what the image is trying to say. A stronger image might have been just one or two of the men but if a wider image, we'd have to make sure one of their faces isn't obscured and that the background is more harmonious. One way to do that would be to get a bit lower so the sky frames them. Good idea however.

This is very simple but compositionally strong: the placement of the figure off-centre surrounded by straight lines is straightforward as it goes - but it's the smaller details that are charming. The hands crossed on the black tee-shirt; the soles of the feet; the dark glasses. This elevates the image into one that is both considered and fortunate.

Well this certainly has loads of energy and that certainly conveys what's going on - but it's very blurry. That in itself can be used to good creative effect but as here, married with a very loose composition it results in a frame that could have been better. Two things here - a higher ISO would have been useful but also perhaps a longer lens to concentrate on tighter action might have given us a more engaging image. Good try however.

I think that sometimes we need to think more about what we're trying to communicate in an image. This photo *shows" a scene in front of us but it does so in a very literal way - there is not much of an attempt to do so creatively. That's likely because where the shot is taken (and the focal) length means that one cannot isolate the action nor creatively describe it: unfortunately it's a bit confusing. Getting closer and making a simpler image might have helped. Keep going.

Given the rather dismal backdrop, this is a cracking frame and one that captures emotion and movement very well. I like the figures are nicely balanced and technically the frame is strong - large aperture to blur background and (as far as I can see) pin-sharp focus. Good framing that anticipates the jump too - nicely done.

Although I suspect that this is simply a very large crop, there is something here ironically of the Constructivism of Rodchenko - challenging the 'bourgeois gaze' of the viewer (I'm thinking of his 'Pioneer with Trumpet', 1930). By forcing us so close it demands that we examine the geography of the face in a different way. I could do without the smudges (attempts at removal?) top right/bottom left) but this is an intriguing image.

This is great. Whilst only shot on an iPhone ('the best camera is the one you have on you') and compositionally not as strong as it could be, this has emotional and physical closeness in bucketloads. I like the tenderness, the intimacy and the gesture of the hands and the paws. I think that to be a better image, I'd have liked to see less of the kitchen and the refrigerator (?) handle and a tighter frame around the two subjects - but that said, this is a very decent frame that tells a strong story. Well done.

Whilst I do like this for the colour and shape of the drums and toys and for the boy's smile, there are two images in here, neither of which are successfully captured in the frame. Firstly and most obviously, there's a tighter portrait of the boy - framed either closer in or vertically to obscure the other figures. There's also a lovely frame of the man making an excellent shape with his arm and yellow string with the boy next to him. It would have helped if the child wasn't looking directly at camera for that. Well seen, but a bit more practice in framing that doesn't rely on vignetting to force the viewer's eye to see what you're getting at.

Well, the image and the captions I'm afraid don't marry and in a sense that sums up the image - a bit confused. That said, there IS a good frame here waiting to get out but to set it free, I think your exposure might have been more accurate and your composition could have been a bit tighter. Rather than 'trying to get it all in', it might have been a better idea to concentrate on one or two of the dancers for something more impactful - and that would have entailed moving around to find a better angle. Nearly.

I'm not sure what we're looking at here - is it the man with the top hat? The girl whose eye tantalisingly looks back at us? Part of the notion of framing an image is about showing the viewer exactly what you're trying to say and here that message is caught between several ideas. A simpler portrait of the top-hat man (with a bit of due regard to the distracting background) might have worked better - or indeed just a closer-in frame that frames the three at the back. Anyway, well seen.

Delightful, and it seems a little churlish to critique a lovely, warm family moment. But the difference between a family snap and a photograph is often about intention and technique. A photographically stronger frame would have exposed the image better (or used a fill-light), and because the little girl is almost obscured by the beach perhaps a lower angle to make a more impactual frame? That said, I hope the image brings good memories.

I find this quite intriguing. Clearly, this has been shot through a window and on an iPhone where it's tricky to see exactly what the framing will be, but the (almost) effect of a kind of double exposure with such strong patterns is interesting. I'd have liked a slightly different framing where the girl's back is fully in frame and perhaps the omission of the house, frame left, but this is really interesting.

Good. I like this - and you've even got an enigmatic smile out of the camel... I like that the background is simple and doesn't interfere too much with the image. How to improve? Well, there seems to be reins coming out of the man's head and shoulders... a small adjust meant to where you stand would have made this a bit moire harmonious - but a good effort

Whether by accident or design, this is enormously pleasing compositionally and I like the 'tableau' essence of it very much. Exposure-wise there's much room for improvement - bells go off when I hear that "I shot in auto mode". I can't see the frame very big but it looks like the highlights on the shirts might be clipping and because this is shot pretty much in the middle of the day, a more accurate exposure would likely have saved work in post. That said, the curve of the track, the Lowry-like figures and the well caught action make this a strong fame.

I like this a lot: low-key, joyful and intimate. A really natural image helped by aperture choice and framing. Lovely hands and unforced smiles. Pretty good exposure and simple composition. I think my only tiny reservation is something slightly out of the photographers' hands - that of the palette. Grey seems to be the interior colour choice de jour now - and that makes for a slightly gloomy image - compounded by the natural lighting. That said, this is a strong frame. Well done.

This is great. I love the harsh, direct flash and the illumination of what is only necessary - the figure and a glimpse of the graffiti. Nicely done. There are a couple of things to say: because the flash is so directional, there's little coverage on the right hand side of the face. That's fine but there IS some spill - a triangle of light below the model's right eye. One or the other - either expand the light and expose the eye or block it completely. Secondly, because of the angle of the light, there's no catchlight in the left eye. That's not bad in itself but it gives the impression that the eyes are black without internal definition. Try a modelling light or some test shots for these little improvements to push technique. Other than that - lovely.