Photojournalism

Well, the eyes have it... This is a cracking image not only because of what it shows but also what it doesn't. We know that this is a boxing ring but the tension is held by the concentrated stares of the men... and we want to know more. The ropes and the barriers take our eyes into the ringside and the figures are well delineated enough for us to scan each figure. Nicely done.

Very nicely framed and executed. Strong graphic with both the figures and the grain. I think it's a little oversaturated (when a frame is this strong we don't need to mess too much in post-production - and remember reportage images should be analogous to direct quotes), but this is a cracker.

Just lovely. A moment of innocent - and likely dangerous - fun well seen and well captured.. I like pretty much everything about this - the framing of the hill that bisects the frame., the delineation of the kids and I especially like the open hands of the kid second from right. Very nicely done.

I like this. I like the abstract quality of it and the dimensionality of the framing. How might it be improved? Although the palm to the left is a good piece of colour, it adds very little information apart from colour (and that's already provided by the blue door). Sometimes the light is there, sometimes the structure of the picture is there - when they come together - and that's a question of timing, then you have a great image. Well seen.

I think in terms of what might be called Humanistic documentary photography, this ticks a great many boxes. Ignoring for a second its monochrome nature which inevitably nods to issues of poverty, nostalgia and sadness, compositionally this all works. The faces are clean and readable and the gesture of warmth and security speak volumes. I think that this is physically close but more importantly emotional so. A very strong effort.

This is very well observed and, like a good deal of images in this category, it doesn't try and scream a message at the viewer. It has a serenity that harks back and referenced for me at least, Eisenstaedt's work on Ellis Island for Life Magazine. If I was being picky, I might have got a little tighter so as to crop out the window frame left which is a tiny bit distracting but this is a lovely, strong frame.

Sometimes great images are about milliseconds and I think that that covers this fame. It is compositionally excellent and I like it for what it is - but the skater is obscured by the background. Sometimes photographers have to alter their position for a frame to make sense. A higher or lower angle would have addressed this. Good effort however.

This is a decent attempt at a frame at Speaker's Corner in London. I like that you've captured some of the arguments and gestures (that's how we might 'read' what's going in an image. What I think the frame lacks however is dynamism. That you might have achieved by getting closer to the action. That's physically and emotionally. I get the sense that you saw something evolving and grabbed an image where you stood.

There is here what Cartier-Bresson might have called a 'decisive moment' in the exchange of chestnuts - but it's lost in the frame to the distracting externals. There really is only one way to make images like this better and that it to get closer and physically exclude what is extraneous. We can use a long lens - but clearly a 135 here wasn't long enough but for the viewer to experience at least some part of the moment, there is no substitute for being in amongst the action. Nicely seen however.

There's certainly a nice moment here but I'm having to search for it. I can't really emphasise enough that it's photographer's job to guide the viewer through what he sees via the viewfinder. Usually that means getting closer to action. Here, the frame could exclude a great deal of extraneous detail and concentrate on the conversation. Getting closer, using a lens in the region of 35mm-50mm would help as might choosing a vantage point either a little higher or lower to isolate the moment. Still, well done for seeing.

Demonstrations are very difficult to record creatively and humour in images are a rare thing. This photograph combines both with reasonable success. The gesture is well caught as is the interaction of the woman - the issue is the distracting centre of the frame and inevitably the bright sky which catches our attention. Sometimes we just have to capture what we see in an instant and hope for the best - and for that reason I think this frames just about works. Well spotted

I like this and I think it's pretty well framed - I like the 'action' of the cobbler and I like the posture of the customer waiting for his shoes. This is a good example of 'a day in the life' type image and it isolates the two characters from what I expect to be a very busy and visually distracting street - but why is it so dark? A decent exposure here would have elevated this from a decent frame to a good one.

There is a picture in this scene but although you've identified its potential I don't really feel that you've captured it. Good photojournalism is about making simple, impactful images that tell us something. This I'm afraid, with the exception of the caption, doesn't do that. Rather than shoot on a long lens a better idea would have been to get physically closer and then engage emotionally. Well done for seeing it though.

This is a nice enough picture - compositionally clear and gives a good impression of what's going on. I like the path that leads us out of the frame and you've well captured the emotion (despite the emotive title) of the scene. That said I'm drawn to the post-production work in this image. The point about making pictures of real people in real life is that photographers are entrusted firstly to depict things-as-they-are and secondly not alter the facts after the moment. By adding to the colour and vignetting we create what we think is the 'right' effect - but the reason why photojournalists are prevented from doing this is that it undermines the voracity of the image and its message. I like this frame a great deal but use your skill to make images that reflect more closely the reality in the viewfinder.

This is a nice frame (of a tour guide) but ruined by a rather poor exposure. I like the hand and I like the expressions but all of the highlights are blown - I'm unsure if this was achieved in post-production but photojournalism is usually about reflecting life as we see it. This effect is distracting and takes our attention away from what could have been a stronger frame.

Photojournalism is about telling stories - about visually explaining what's going on in an image. There's a story here but it isn't clear - a swim? I can only tell that by the fact that there's a beach and the caption. If we can't see people swimming or getting out of the water we might need at least to be a bit closer to the action. Be brave! Talk to people! Get closer and show is the best advice I can give here.

Nicely done. You've used figure either side of the main group to lead the eye into the central frame. I like the way that you've gotten down and given a low view to the scene. That isolates what you're trying to say nicely. How to improve? Well, being much closer might have helped and more critical framing so that the pylon wasn't so close the one of the actor's shoulders... but this isn't a bad effort at all. Nice.

OK, there is certainly a moment here - the women dancing and playing but the viewer is left to decide what is important in the frame without necessarily being able to decide what is actually going on. Although the action is reasonably well captured, it's confusing because the background is in conflict - figures aren't clearly delineated either from themselves nor from the trees/house. A longer focal length or better - being closer - would help here. Still, well done for seeing.

This is well captured in terms of action but I wonder if two things had been different, we might have had a better image. Firstly, exposure. It's always tricky shooting in harsh light but a more considered exposure where the highlights are not blowing out would have resulted in a more pleasing frame. Secondly, I wonder if, rather than just concentrating on the man falling in, we might have had a better image with the frame as upright so as to give an idea of the crowd. Still, well done for seeing and getting it sharp.

I can see what the pictures aim is here - the stark contrast between the rich and the poor - and I get that photojournalism can be used effectively in this way. However, there is photography and there is journalism and firstly you have to make an impactual image to tell that story. Here, you need to make an image that humanises the plight of this man and that means getting closer, likely engaging with him to create a clearer sense of the dichotomy within the image. Well done for seeing - but if we're going to make this kind of work, you owe it to the audience - and the subject - to intervene effectively.

These images are always tricky to make on both a technical and emotional level and we should be very clear when we are intruding on significant moments whether we should. That said, the framing of this scene is excellent and it shows in detail both the formality and finality of the moment. Shot almost as a tableau - straight on - this is one instance where physical closeness might have both interfered and disrupted the moment. Well done.

A very strong image that encompasses life in all its guises. The mother's eyes lead us directly to the baby and the framing of the father (?) is delightful. Monochrome removes the distraction of colour leaving us to ruminate on the graphic qualities of the image. Well done.

A strong frame that shows and tells. Inevitably it's the mascara running down the woman's face that makes an average image without too much context into a much more dynamic frame. As much as I like it I wonder whether a portrait version wouldn't have been even more impartial - but these are decision taken very quickly and over all this is a very good effort.

This is really nicely done. A well executed/exposed image that speak much about both literal and figurative 'balance'. I like the strong bold colour and I like how the action is well caught - but ultimately it's the composition - the outstretched arms that are perfectly weighted by the skater and provide a balance to the composition. Well done.