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eeneryma
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p.1 #1 · Two Faced


Living in NYC, street photography is an exciting challenge. One of the themes that interests me is how advertising interacts and affects our lives. Humor and irony also play a part in my photography. I shot this quick grab this morning on my way on an errand. Any composition or pp suggestions appreciated.








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Sep 26, 2012 at 10:05 PM
RustyBug
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p.1 #2 · Two Faced


Clever Title for an interesting capture.

I think it stands pat as is ... any changes will likely take away from the natural "street vibe" ... and then it takes on a staged production perspective.
Sep 26, 2012 at 10:13 PM
Bob Jarman
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p.1 #3 · Two Faced


Fun, and interesting.

I'm undecided by the arm, drink, and lower leg - would removing help or hurt the image. As is they (he) does add the information this is a shelter for bus or something else.

Nits - recover some texture/detail in apron and brighten his face very slightly.

Well seen and grabbed

Bob

I've taken the liberty to re-work. If you object I will pull the image. CS6; Viveza2 for selectively altering brightness, contrast, and structure of gentleman and surroundings; mid-tone contrast bump; Color Efex Pro4 Tonal Contrast filter and Darken/brighten Center filter.

Regards,

Bob









Sep 26, 2012 at 11:45 PM
Mister Bean
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p.1 #4 · Two Faced


I think it's begging for black and white. In LR I chose black and white, increased clarity a touch, lifted up the shadows, pulled back the highlights, increased exposure on his face a smidge, straightened it a bit and added a subtle vignette to move attention toward the center of the frame. It really doesn't need much - all changes were very subtle.



This image is copyrighted by the owner
Sep 27, 2012 at 12:26 AM
eeneryma
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p.1 #5 · Two Faced


To Bob and Mr. Bean:
Thanks so much for your takes on this. The black and white version is beautifully executed. I'm usually a color guy, but am swayed by your your b&w rendition. I think the bodyless hand (holding the phone or ipod?) and leg add a touch of levity. The structure is a bus shelter, typically seen on many corners now in NYC. I am unfamiliar with Viveza 2 and Color Efex Pro 4. Are these plug ins for Photoshop, or stand alone programs? How do they differ from what can normally be accomplished in photoshop?


Sep 27, 2012 at 01:46 AM
Bob Jarman
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p.1 #6 · Two Faced


eeneryma wrote:
To Bob and Mr. Bean:
Thanks so much for your takes on this. The black and white version is beautifully executed. I'm usually a color guy, but am swayed by your your b&w rendition. I think the bodyless hand (holding the phone or ipod?) and leg add a touch of levity. The structure is a bus shelter, typically seen on many corners now in NYC. I am unfamiliar with Viveza 2 and Color Efex Pro 4. Are these plug ins for Photoshop, or stand alone programs? How do they differ from what can normally be accomplished in photoshop?

I prefer the BW also - much better suited - notice how the body parts no longer compete with the subject but rather help frame and complement the image.

Viveza and Color Efex are PS and LR plugins from Nik Software. You might download the trials (assuming they are still available since Google "acquired" Nik last week (?)). I am not optimistic about the future of Nik's plugins given my former experience with compiler and IDE companies with excellent, well-thought out and engineered products BTW, competing against the MS/Visual Studio ecosystem. I cannot imagine Google has any interest in furthering products that are Adobe-centric; think Picasa, web, cloud, and mobile apps instead.

Anyway, what they offer outside PS - nothing other than the fact one (at least in my case) can compress hours of work and expertise outside one's skill-set into a mouse click and sliders. Really, check 'em out.

regards,

Bob
Sep 27, 2012 at 12:17 PM
eeneryma
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p.1 #7 · Two Faced


thanks for the info on Viveza and Color Efex. I'll check them out.


Sep 27, 2012 at 12:41 PM
sbeme
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p.1 #8 · Two Faced


What a fun image! Great capture.
Another nod to the BW.
I too am ambivalent about the protruding leg and hand. They do say "candid" and add bit more humor. It would not be worth the time, IMO, to clone them out and compare.
Scott


Sep 27, 2012 at 06:12 PM
AuntiPode
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p.1 #9 · Two Faced


Consider shooting the image with a wider aperture to blur the distracting background details, or cropping closer to focus more attention on the crux of the image:























Sep 27, 2012 at 08:18 PM
 



eeneryma
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p.1 #10 · Two Faced


I'm currently at a bit of a disadvantage in that I shoot with an Olympus DSLR (E-30). Their excellent system, "four thirds", which is pretty much discontinued now, is not adept at creating blur and throwing things out of focus. Most of the lenses they made were zooms, not primes, and they have a tendency to keep everything in focus no matter how wide open the lens is.
As I'm sure you know, full frame cameras have a much better facility in this regard. When I accumulate some bucks, I'm thinking of upgrading to the new full frame Nikon D600 or Canon 6D. I just have to take a deep breath when I go to sell or trade in my lenses.
I prefer your first treatment where you blurred the edges using pp. You make an excellent point though about blurring distracting backgrounds. Thank you.


Sep 27, 2012 at 08:52 PM
AuntiPode
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p.1 #11 · Two Faced


FWIW, I've been shooting mostly micro 4/3rds or the past couple of years. There are more lens options, but occasionally I still add blur in post processing. Sometimes I add blur in sections to better simulate aperture focus blur, giving more blur to distant portions of the background. I also intend to buy some large aperture primes at some point.


Sep 27, 2012 at 09:42 PM
Caleb Williams
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p.1 #12 · Two Faced


I'd like to see the image by 2nd or 3rd image posted by AuntiPode cropped even tighter and straighted vertically so that the none of the metal is showing.


Sep 28, 2012 at 01:55 PM
AuntiPode
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p.1 #13 · Two Faced


Easy enough:
















Sep 28, 2012 at 08:14 PM
eeneryma
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p.1 #14 · Two Faced


By isolating the sign and the person without reference to the surroundings, the photo takes on a different meaning. It becomes more a portrait of the man, rather than having a "street" reference. For me, the irony is that he has no clue that he is leaning against a beautiful model, in the middle of a public space, and that she is hypnotically staring at every passer-by while he looks off to the side, with the pursed lips and somewhat angry and perturbed expression. How you interpret the interaction of the 2 different gazes in a public place is what it's about. Just my personal vision.


Sep 28, 2012 at 09:21 PM
RustyBug
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p.1 #15 · Two Faced


eeneryma wrote:
By isolating the sign and the person without reference to the surroundings, the photo takes on a different meaning. It becomes more a portrait of the man, rather than having a "street" reference.

+1


Sep 28, 2012 at 10:39 PM
Mister Bean
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p.1 #16 · Two Faced


eeneryma wrote:
By isolating the sign and the person without reference to the surroundings, the photo takes on a different meaning. It becomes more a portrait of the man, rather than having a "street" reference. For me, the irony is that he has no clue that he is leaning against a beautiful model, in the middle of a public space, and that she is hypnotically staring at every passer-by while he looks off to the side, with the pursed lips and somewhat angry and perturbed expression. How you interpret the interaction of the 2 different gazes in a public place is what it's about. Just my personal vision.

Agreed. And for this photo, I think the background elements are essential.


Sep 28, 2012 at 11:05 PM
beebibi
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p.1 #17 · Two Faced


This is a fun capture! Difficult how to frame it - what to crop and what to leave in in order to tell the story.

- my first version was a compromise. I cropped top and side to point out more the main subject(s)

- the second version is all about the subject(s) - the arrogant model in the poster and the preoccupied tradesman - totally disconnected emotionally but again connected by proximity - very amusing.....

Thanks for sharing

Best, Bee
















Sep 29, 2012 at 03:21 AM
eeneryma
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p.1 #18 · Two Faced


Bee:
I like your first crop a lot, along with your pp on the left side of the photo. The levity of the inanimate hand and soda bottle comes more clearly into focus. Thanks for posting.


Sep 29, 2012 at 09:57 AM
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