New Joiners - People #539

This is tricky. There is a potentially lovely shot here and that is the man on the right's quite natural interest and reaction to the portrait painter. I like it as an idea but as an image there's too much going on to sustain the visual notion. There is too much extraneous information on both sides of the easel and sometimes, if we're unlucky as here, too many people distract the viewer. What is positive is that the photographer has seen the situation unfold and, with patience and a little more physical and emotional closeness (and some luck), next time there'll be a cracking frame.

This is a really nice idea but the composition is a little confused. I like the accordionist and you've certainly captured him in full flow - but the multiple figures behind distract and obstruct what you're trying to say. This kind of work necessitates the photographer moving around the scene to make an image for the viewer that is harmonious - unlike a painter, you can't ask the scene to move! Making an image that is simple without distractions (or using this distraction creatively) is what makes impactful and interesting photographs - and is often about practice. Keep pushing.

A really simple and straightforward frame that is well exposed and well executed. Obvious enough to tell a story, it's nicely timed with the children's hands - both critically engaged and well captured. It has a bit of an over-processed look with the sky burning in and even perhaps on such a grey day, an exact exposure might have given a more subtle effect - but overall this is charming!

There's a really lovely image here and it almost comes off. I think however that on two levels there's an issue and one is related to the second. Firstly, the framing whilst beautifully following the format of the chaise longue, captures too much of the light outside and that's where the eye is drawn. A more accurate exposure or an adjustment of the curtain might have at least cut down the glare. Secondly, that glare has pretty much blown the highlights on the bride's face and shoulder. Again, an accurate reading would have helped, as might a re-framing with much less of the window visible drawing the eye into a more Rambrantesque lighting. Well done in any case for a memorable image.

Joyous. A very lovely moment captured for posterity. As much as the jump and the delighted expression, I like that the face is clearly delineated from both the sea and the sky and that there's an entirely spontaneous feel to this. The icing on the cake however is the subtle colouring of the sky. This is a wonderful example of the photograph as momento.

This is great; dynamic and colourful. I really love the shape of the swirl that is almost the entire picture but essentially the frame is about intimacy and closeness - one can almost feel the movement here. To be super critical, there's a little too much of the shop signage which being the brightest part of the frame detracts but there's always a compromise in frames like this to capture the whole scene and overall this is an excellent effort.

Although there is nothing intimate about this image - in fact it's in a sense rather voyeuristic - its strength lies in its strongly graphic nature. I love the different quadrants of the frame that offer up compositions all of their own, yet unite in a very satisfying image. It oddly reminds me of Cartier Bresson's 'Sunday on the Banks of the Marne'. Nicely done.

I really like this. An excellent use of focus and detail to capture action. Well exposed and seen. I wonder however if we could make this stronger? For me, the key elements are the wrestler's eye's, the backside of his opponent and the referee. I can see that this was shot 'only' on a 200mm and so as a landscape frame you've had to include rather distracting and superfluous crowd detail. If we flipped to a portrait shape and anchored the frame above the heads of the umpire and wrestler - and cut out the crowd completely, you'd have a ton of negative empty map that would lead the viewer's eye upwards towards the action. Might that show a more dramatic image? Top level sports photography isn't just about showing action it's all about making eye-catching composed frames in tight and uninteresting situations. Keep pushing.

Although this is clearly a self-portrait and contrived as such, there is the feeling of spontaneity and pleasure. For me the strength lies not so much in the smile or the eyes but rather the framing where the head is partly obscured by the pillow to give a rather dynamic composition. Nicely done.

Nicely done, well exposed and thought out. Part of making images like this is imagining what they'll look like when completed and I imagine you've achieved that. It's really striking but two things occurred to me for next time. Firstly, although I'm assuming that this is natural light, in the future a reflector (card, silver foil etc etc), angled slightly underneath the face might take a way deeper shadows. Secondly, the model looks a bit too 'stare-y'. Asking someone to close and then open their eyes and then capturing that freshness might be a useful tip. Anyway, lovely effort.

I think that this is both innovative and engaging. The photographer has used a device to tells us a story - who are these people and what does their opaqueness reveal? A simple idea, well executed using basic aperture control and focus to add an additional dimension to an everyday scene.

A really innovative and well-executed idea that gives a dramatic dimension to an image. I really like how the flash has caught the 'spray' and I especially like the red dress splayed out. The design of the image - the face to one side makes the viewer work a little - which is always good. If I was being really critical, perhaps I'd have liked the dress to be even wider to obscure the legs which I think diminish the elegance slightly, but this is a lovely image. Well done.

Lovely. A real moment captured here and one that encompasses gesture, emotion and concentration. My feeling however is that whilst it has emotional closeness (in spades), it lacks physical closeness and that means our eyes are scanning all around the really interesting bits of the frame settling on distracting details like other people. Simply put, if you can't move in a situation like that and don't have a longer lens, a judicious crop might be your only bet. As W. Eugene Smith famously said, “[I crop] for the benefit of pictures. The world does not fit conveniently into the format of a 35mm camera.”

Photographing a scene like this with multiple elements, big crowds and no time to do but react, will always be tricky. This isn't a bad effort but it's clearly a snatch from the crowd. That said, you isolated the 'performer' nicely from the other characters. Two ideas. Work out before hand a place where you might get a better chance of clean images or in this case, try and shot from lower to isolate what's in front of your lens. Good effort however.

Intersting effort and although this is 'just' a 'snap' on a phone, it holds an interesting idea. That idea is about shape (and to a lesser extent, colour). Imaging that this 'isn't simply' about a selfie but instead an abstract frame about the face - without the distraction of what's behind the head. A closer in frame cropped to the eyes and the bubble then takes on a different, more surreal aesthetic. Something to think about.