New Joiners - People #584

I like this quite a bit but I do think that with a more accurate exposure, you could improve it. The frame has very dense shadows - caused I suspect by an average exposure that overcompensated for the bright, dusk sky. The framing is lovely but opening up the exposure slightly (even half a stop) would have given some details to the shadows. A good effort however.

Although this is a frame that certainly captures some of the character of the woman, it ultimately falls because of a simple imbalance between the foreground at the messy, distracting background. When we compose, it's a good idea to exclude what is extraneous. Sometimes I appreciate that that is more difficult than others and in this case it might have been partially solved by coming closer to the subject. A good attempt however.

Nearly. I get some sense of the character of the portrait sitter but there are two issues here. Firstly, when composing, we have to be sure that if anything obscures the sitter, it is working for the image. Here the flower in front of her face adds nothing and a small positional adjustment would have solved that. Secondly, exposure. The coat is underexposed and the highlights are the first thing one looks at. Personally I'd have been tempted also to either shoot from slightly lower so that the tree line didn't cross the model's face. These are mostly minor adjustments however and easily rectified, so keep pushing.

An intriguing image that in many ways shouldn't work but does. I think that its success lies not necessarily in the technicalities of the frame - it's rather 'heavy' exposure, nor in its evident 'affect' of the emotion of the subject, but in it's balance. The two hands frame the photograph and the light on the hair and lower face echo each other in a rather intriguing fashion. Despite its unconventional appearance, this is a strong photograph that does simply what it sets out to do. well done.

This is tricky because the frame is very busy but by luck or judgement, there are some very interesting framing decisions going on. The woman's elbow really 'fills' the left hand side of the frame very nicely and the prone rickshaw driver to the right is caught through a hand bar. The taxi sign is clear and 'tells' us what we're looking at. I'd likely have been tempted to open the aperture further (to wide open) so as to blur the background a bit more but this is rather good as it stands.

This is well seen but how to make it better? I think that the issue with this image is that the boy and the shadows are very dark against the highlights. I'd have been tempted to firstly expose more accurately (I have a feeling an average exposure might have been taken by the camera) but also, if the car was still part of the composition, to move the angle of the shot to reduce extraneous background detail and cut down how much sunlight was included in the overall exposure. Anyway, a good attempt.

This is a frame that has nearly come off. Fundamentally the construction depends on the looming figure to the left dominating half the image but it's unclear what she 'reveals'. The image appears to reference the central woman but it's the interplay of the noisy background that draws our attention from her and indeed the composition in general. It's a shame: it's a good idea but a case of the disharmony of foreground and background.

There's something very monochrome strangely enough about this image - despite the gorgeous sheen of the horses' skin. I love the graphic nature of the woman and her hat - and the golden light (be careful with exposing the highlights here) but I really wish that the tree wan't filling the sky. A step or two to the left and perhaps a little lower viewpoint might have made a difference to that still. Still, a lovely frame.

I think that I can see what you were trying to do here, but it hasn't worked. There's a lovely shape to the figure and clearly that's what made you make the frame. However, there's a general rule (although rules are made to be broken) about shooting into the sun. That has made the camera adjust far too much for the dominant light and hugely underexpose anything else in the frame. The solution is to meter more accurately but also have a sense of what will and what will not photograph effectively. Still, a good idea here and that's the important thing.

This is a lovely idea and actually pretty well exposed - I like the palm that frames the figure - but generally it feels squeezed and that's because although the left hand side of the door appears to lead us into the portrait, the right hand makes it look too tight. I think that this could have been better sited with a less busy background. Still, a nice effort.

I think that the issue here is really about balance. If the central subject is the musician, how much extraneous visual information do we need? Clearly the wall rather than the path has more interest because of its colour and texture so perhaps the framing might have reflected that. Additionally, I like that the instrument partially obscures his face - but it does so in a way that isn't necessarily constructive - for that that to be a significant visual motif, you'd have needed a much more radical, more abstract and closer framing. Still, this isn't a bad attempt. Keep thinking about what you want to say rather than just what's in front of you.

This is an image that is heavy on both 'feeling' and graphics but I can't help think that it is a little too wide. I like the streetlight that bisects the frame and I like the salt box and the posters that seem to envelop the scene... but I think the moving figure is a little too far from the musician for them to spatially relate as well as they might. Another fraction of a second and a more intimate composition might have resulted - but still a good effort.

Although this is a well seen situation, I can't help thinking that it was grabbed. There is an image here - a nicely framed one between the hanging chillies and jars - but the stall-holder is oddly obscured: we can't really see what she's doing. Sometimes, a strong image is the result of patience and waiting (and waiting...) to see what develops and whether an image that is more communicable might be seen. Keep pushing, this isn't far off.

This is a really good idea that almost works. I think that the issue is the image is trying to do too much and deal with too many zones of exposure. The central area of the frame - the waiter - is perhaps three or four stops darker than the brightest part - the wall behind the reflections. Sometimes we have to deal with the world as it is, especially in complex visual formulations like this. Compositionally, we have to ask what does the white walls/trees and building offer to the frame? I think that the interesting image is in the contrast between the waiter and the reflection of the girls - so this is a case where closer would have been better and I can't help but think that the photographer has been hindered additionally by the time of day that this was shot - meaning the sun was very bright. A real shame because the idea was a good one. Keep pushing with this and don't be discouraged.

Nicely done. I think that you've used the bridge - and it's striking colour - to make a frame within a frame to make an environmental portrait that isolates the man's face nicely. A good contrast between his shape and that of the strong lines of the steel. My only issue would be the very last segment that shows a rather distracting set of windows. That said, the idea is strong and could have been improved by a slight re-framing. Still, well done - a good effort.