Which one works best (or none of them?)

[Crotal Bell]

I've been shooting more people/life scenes recently and really enjoying it.
Today I found a scene where the people would need to be more distant, only part of the picture, but I think it works, and I want to know if you think it works too?

Secondly, the composition.
When I cropped these, I preferred the dog walkers with the foreground bank adding to an overall frame and more of the river in shot.
But when I looked back after, I preferred the cyclist composition.
There's also a jogger which is kind of in the middle of the other two compositions, so three options.

(it was miserably dull and wet when I was shooting)

Look forward to your thoughts on the merits of the scene, and the choices of composition.

The dog walkers - my favourite in editing, but not when I looked back.


The Jogger - middle option which I quite like


The cyclist - my personal favourite

 

[sirch]

For me the house in the background is too distracting, may be a different time of day when the background is darker if that is possible. I agree that the cycling shot is probably the strongest but I don't find it to be a compelling scene TBH

 

[Crotal Bell]

For me the house in the background is too distracting, may be a different time of day when the background is darker if that is possible. I agree that the cycling shot is probably the strongest but I don't find it to be a compelling scene TBH

Thanks Chris, much appreciated.

 

[Bristolian]

Hi Keith,

Whilst I don't find the subject very interesting it does provide you with options for composition.

My personal view is that in the first image there is too much of the near river bank in the image and is a slight distraction. In the third image there is too little of the bank visible making the far bank and pipe the foreground. The second image, on the other hand, has enough of the nearside bank visible to make it obvious it is there without it actually being part of the image.

Just my four-penneth and others will likely disagree. Keep up the good work

 

[woof woof]

I think they all have their merits. I don't mind the slightly different compositions and the inclusion of the near bank or not and I don't mind the deep depth and backgrounds as they give context and are a slice of life. I don't think every shot has to be a limited dof shot.

This is a good read on depth...

In Defense of Depth

From Russian Noir by Jason Eskenazi By John Kennerdell If there's a single received idea that fires up the imagination of my young photographer friends these days, it's that for "professional looking" photographs they should buy fast lenses and then...

theonlinephotographer.typepad.com

Generally I think someone in the frame, even a passing stranger, can make the shot. In your place I think I'd find a location, composition and shot you want and wait for someone to walk into it but as for this composition... The gap in the hedge you have there could be an interesting place to return to to take pictures with the same framing at different times of year and day and in different weathers. It could be a nice little project

 

[ancient_mariner]

The cycling shot is strongest because of the O of the wheels and the pipe, because the boy is dark & stands out from the house AND he hides the metallic structure better too. However I'd crop down to a square format, losing the top third - the sky & leaves bring nothing to the picture.

If I shot these I'd do it wide open with a 50mm f1.4 or 85 f1.4 to blur out the junk behind.

 

[Crotal Bell]

Hi Keith,

Whilst I don't find the subject very interesting it does provide you with options for composition.

My personal view is that in the first image there is too much of the near river bank in the image and is a slight distraction. In the third image there is too little of the bank visible making the far bank and pipe the foreground. The second image, on the other hand, has enough of the nearside bank visible to make it obvious it is there without it actually being part of the image.

Just my four-penneth and others will likely disagree. Keep up the good work

Interesting, now I look at the jogger composition and I can see exactly what you mean. Thank you.

 

[Crotal Bell]

I think they all have their merits. I don't mind the slightly different compositions and the inclusion of the near bank or not and I don't mind the deep depth and backgrounds as they give context and are a slice of life. I don't think every shot has to be a limited dof shot.

This is a good read on depth...

In Defense of Depth

From Russian Noir by Jason Eskenazi By John Kennerdell If there's a single received idea that fires up the imagination of my young photographer friends these days, it's that for "professional looking" photographs they should buy fast lenses and then...

theonlinephotographer.typepad.com

Generally I think someone in the frame, even a passing stranger, can make the shot. In your place I think I'd find a location, composition and shot you want and wait for someone to walk into it but as for this composition... The gap in the hedge you have there could be an interesting place to return to to take pictures with the same framing at different times of year and day and in different weathers. It could be a nice little project

Thanks Alan, I agree, sometimes I like the slice of life feel instead of blurred background. I do think @ancient_mariner may have a point though, if there was a slight blur on the house it would still tell the story but possibly add something. Some really interesting comments and suggestions coming in.

 

[Crotal Bell]

The cycling shot is strongest because of the O of the wheels and the pipe, because the boy is dark & stands out from the house AND he hides the metallic structure better too. However I'd crop down to a square format, losing the top third - the sky & leaves bring nothing to the picture.

If I shot these I'd do it wide open with a 50mm f1.4 or 85 f1.4 to blur out the junk behind.

Great observation on the wheels and the pipe, now you say it, I can see that and appreciate it.
Yes, maybe some blur on the background would help.
I like the top third but you have a point, I'll try focussing closer on the pipe and track, and on different apertures (and wait for more bikes)
Comments much appreciated.

 

[ancient_mariner]

Great observation on the wheels and the pipe, now you say it, I can see that and appreciate it.
Yes, maybe some blur on the background would help.
I like the top third but you have a point, I'll try focussing closer on the pipe and track, and on different apertures (and wait for more bikes)
Comments much appreciated.

You can leave the top in if you cut out the pipe - keeping both kills the composition.

 

[Crotal Bell]

You can leave the top in if you cut out the pipe - keeping both kills the composition.

That's interesting, I thought both added something, different layers and possibly a top and bottom frame to the human subject.
I'll play around more, and as the location is only down the road I have plenty of opportunity.

 

[ancient_mariner]

That's interesting, I thought both added something, different layers and possibly a top and bottom frame to the human subject.
I'll play around more, and as the location is only down the road I have plenty of opportunity.

We all see stuff differently - do what works for you.