Nice capture and good b/w conversion. May I suggest you get rid of the bright white light in the upper right corner and darken the left side....pavement and building. That way your eye will not wander to those bright areas and stay on the subjects face.

I think I would try and see how a square crop looks on this! Otherwise the capture is excellent and really brings out the character in his face!
Douglas

If I was apply the rule of third, his face is a bit off. Otherwise nice captures and strong image.

Thanks guys but as you see my work I never consciously follow the RoTs. I like to play a bit closer to the edges in many cases if I feel its fits the image better. I love these quotes by some of the greats.

"When subject matter is forced to fit into preconceived patterns, there can be no freshness of vision. Following rules of composition can only lead to a tedious repetition of pictorial cliches." - Edward Weston

"Then so called “composition” becomes a personal thing, to be developed along with technique, as a personal way of seeing." - Edward Weston

"There are no rules and regulations for perfect composition. If there were we would be able to put all the information into a computer and would come out with a masterpiece. We know that's impossible. You have to compose by the seat of your pants." - Arnold Newman

"There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs." - Ansel Adams

"Photography is still a very new medium and everything must be tried and dare... photography has no rules. It is not a sport. It is the result which counts, no matter how it is achieved." - Bill Brandt

I know it was cloudy here in Chicago today, but I'd expect to see some form of a shadow directly under his hat, presuming you weren't using a reflector. Just curious if you worked the eyes at all. If you did, you hid it well and it looks really good.

Thanks, no reflector just light gray sidewalks and building reflecting light back into the subject. I did do a quick mask and brought the entire face up some and the background down some.

A few more from today. Same light

Nice! Thanks for sharing, explaining, etc. The pp you did was very subtle and nicely effective.

"When subject matter is forced to fit into preconceived patterns, there can be no freshness of vision. Following rules of composition can only lead to a tedious repetition of pictorial cliches." - Edward Weston

"Then so called “composition” becomes a personal thing, to be developed along with technique, as a personal way of seeing." - Edward Weston

"There are no rules and regulations for perfect composition. If there were we would be able to put all the information into a computer and would come out with a masterpiece. We know that's impossible. You have to compose by the seat of your pants." - Arnold Newman

"There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs." - Ansel Adams

"Photography is still a very new medium and everything must be tried and dare... photography has no rules. It is not a sport. It is the result which counts, no matter how it is achieved." - Bill Brandt


"Rules? In a knife fight? No rules!" - Harvey Logan to Butch Cassidy

Great shots, by the way!

Thanks guys.

Nice shots. To me I like them especially because they're not just tightly framed shots of random peoples faces. I like that you give enough of a background that I can make up a backstory in my head of who they are.

bclimey wrote:
Nice capture and good b/w conversion. May I suggest you get rid of the bright white light in the upper right corner and darken the left side....pavement and building. That way your eye will not wander to those bright areas and stay on the subjects face.


I agree wit these points, but the main thing is - these are little thing to consider for slight changes to a very good photo.

Nice work.

Thanks Jim and everyone for your input. Got a lot of work before the big show in April.