I thought it was terrific, a fave! Your DoF is spot on and this image just tells so many stories. I also love how his roughness is juxtaposed against the sparkling lights behind him; which for me holds all kinds of different meaning (his best days are behind him, or the rest of the world is just a blur to him; all he cares about is the narrow plane he currently resides in (depicted by your narrow focal plane)) every thing behind and ahead of him in his life is an out-of-focus blur. I can go on and on about this shot! :)
love your depth as well, you put so much into that, you know its interesting about street photography, i have only dabbled in it for less than a year now, BUT just a few blocks before i got one young adult female say "OH! I heard that shutter go off you took my pic with out CONSENT!?... i introduced myself and said to her "Well it didnt come out" and deleted it, as i was walking i was thinking how different we all are considering the other 3-4 shots while walking on campus had nothing to say ... and then this guy haha he sure was revelling about his past ... that cap hes wearing is from a steel company and it was part of his topics with me, "here get the cap, yeah steel workers ... get that in there ... i worked in steel ..." it was really his corner i saw from a ways pan handling, as a corss the street a young adult man gets a parking ticket ...im looking for a partner my current "protegae" as she calls herself is not fond of street photography, i think 2 would make it safer and funner @grizzlysghost
I really like everything about the image, Aaron said it all so well I won't go too much into it, just to say I think you did a Fabulous job capturing this man. I personally an not a fan of Sepia and would have gone Black and White, but that is strictly a personal thing, I have never been drawn to sepia, so when I saw it in my feed I wasn't drawn in like I would have been to a B&W image
I really like the tone, the detail and lines in his face and beard, and the processing. But my first impression when I saw it the other day was that I didn't like his eyes being closed and his mouth seeming like he was in the middle of saying something. So overall I think it's good, but would have been much more powerful with a different expression or looking at the camera
I have dealt with antique photography for 25 years, so sepia is a part of my life. I like the unusual crop. Many would have hesitated to cut off the bill of his cap. I like his pov, away from the space. I agree with Jim, his years of struggle would have shown in his eyes. I live in a very rural area, and street photography is not readily available. On my bucket list.
@eryck Eryck, the subject is absolutely stunning. Excellent details captured, and the photograph shows a very compelling story. It's extremely well done. The tight crop is well done and I think it adds to the intensity of the image. The tightly closed eyes are also part of the drama. I think they tell a much deeper story than if his eyes were open.
From a b&w perspective, I'm in the camp that likes to see both pure white and pure black in the image. I like a high contrast b&w image since I think it has greater impact on the viewer.
If you're willing to share an e-mail address, I'll send you an example of what I mean using that photo. Otherwise, give it a shot yourself using whatever photo editor you like. If it's PSE, then try adding a black and white gradient map in color blend mode, then pulling the mid-tones to the right with a level adjustment. A sepia photo filter on top will give it that nice silvery appearance.
Of course, tonal range is a matter of preference for the viewer, so if you're not one that likes high contrast as I've described then that method would not appeal to you.
Well done! I don't do street, at least not yet, and find it interesting when captivating pictures like this come along. Glad you explained how the shot came to be, that's always what I wonder most - "how did this photographer come across this guy?" or "what made him/her take this picture?". Technically it is spot on and the interest level makes it that much better!
@hopess13@welcometocarolworld@dlos thanks for your time and comments. JIM I appreciate your honesty and i have one with him looking dead on but Im saving it for a potential exhibit ;)
@kannafoot why not share your example in this thread (or Post) Id love to see how you would approach this, or do you want to share emails for the raw file?
I like this image a lot. The sepia tone is perfect as is your focus and dof. The bokeh is great. The only thing I would have done differently is had him on the left side of the image, looking into the frame. I like how you cut off the top of his cap.
@eryck Eryck, I didn't want to post something of yours here without your permission. Here's a quick example of what I was thinking. I just used the version you uploaded here, so the dpi is pretty low.
@kannafoot this is a great example, can you describe how you achieved this|? i have been avoiding boosting contrast in Lr 3.6 due to the increase in shadows ... how did you really bring out the wrinkles while maintaining soft shadows ... ?
@eryck For B&W I use a Photoshop Elements 10 plug-in called "Topaz B&W FX." It gives you a lot of dramatic control over the subtleties in the image. To produce this same effect, though, without the plug-in I've taken these steps (again in PSE 10.)
1. Add a black and white gradient map and change the blend mode to "color".
2 Add a sepia photo filter above the gradient map layer.
Next, do everything else between your background copy and the gradient map.
3. Apply a hue/saturation/lightness adjustment layer beneath the gradient map. Adjust the hue slider to produce the details and contrast you want on the base image. (The map responds to the underlying tones differently, so you can really get dramatic results this way.)
4. Add a levels adjustment above the hue layer. Draw the white slider to the left to make the pure whites pop. Draw the mid-tone slider slightly to the right to deepen the overall dark tones. If you do this in .01 decrements, you can avoid blasting out the depth of the shadows.
5. Finally, I'll add a brightness/contrast adjustment layer if necessary, although I try to avoid it since it fundamentally changes the shape of the histogram.
It's all much easier in Topaz, though. There's a free trial for the product, so if you really like B&W I'd recommend checking it out.
@kannafoot that is great detail and thanks for the step by step description ... to be totally honest in Lightroom I dont know how to create a b&w with true whites and true blacks, there always seems to be color mixed in there even tho I can adjust curves and play with the color mixer (as well adjusting white balance) ... but Lr has no levels adjuster or any b&w filter which is why i settled for adding a split tone. I might try that trial of topaz i heard of it before and it looks good ... but in the mean time if i am stuck with Lr ....by the way I had no idea PSE had plug-ins, good to know.
I do really like B&W I think it adds to the character, although what im trying to achieve with this is it seemed a lot of fine art photography has really low contrast, and that was my goal. so for my taste I prefer a softer contrast at this stage in my life, it just seems a softer image requires a closer look and if its a good image the closer look will last longer and be more memorable ... but i havent done any studies on that theory.
not to say i dont like your image, and not to say its not fine art ... you really seem to know how to bang out the editing and thats a skill. as well i really value your comment to bring out the true blacks and whites, thats a major part about b&w and thanks for the lesson.
@eryck Eryck, I found this regarding B&W conversion in Lightroom: http://photographylife.com/how-to-convert-portraits-to-bw-with-lightroom-4 It applies to LR 4, and I know you have 3.6, but I think the steps are still applicable. I hope it helps!
I think you're right that the current popular trend in b&w is for the softer images. You especially see it in portrait photography. The beauty of art - including photography - is that there's no single right answer! For me, a successful work of art is one that makes the viewer pause and consider what the artist is trying to convey. Give 20 photographers the same subject to shoot and you'll get 20 dramatically different presentations.
Try this one. I think it's more along the lines that you're looking for with lower contrast but still maintaining the details in his facial lines. (I'll tell you, this is a fascinating subject you've captured. I think we could spend hours presenting him in many different ways.)
@kannafoot ok yes this is more like what im looking for, very nice and thanks for sharing as well that link. you know what i might try, with layers, keep the background as is and add a touch of contrast to the subject ... to really make him pop.
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Again, you did a Fantastic job!!!
From a b&w perspective, I'm in the camp that likes to see both pure white and pure black in the image. I like a high contrast b&w image since I think it has greater impact on the viewer.
If you're willing to share an e-mail address, I'll send you an example of what I mean using that photo. Otherwise, give it a shot yourself using whatever photo editor you like. If it's PSE, then try adding a black and white gradient map in color blend mode, then pulling the mid-tones to the right with a level adjustment. A sepia photo filter on top will give it that nice silvery appearance.
Of course, tonal range is a matter of preference for the viewer, so if you're not one that likes high contrast as I've described then that method would not appeal to you.
@kannafoot why not share your example in this thread (or Post) Id love to see how you would approach this, or do you want to share emails for the raw file?
@kannafoot this is a great example, can you describe how you achieved this|? i have been avoiding boosting contrast in Lr 3.6 due to the increase in shadows ... how did you really bring out the wrinkles while maintaining soft shadows ... ?
1. Add a black and white gradient map and change the blend mode to "color".
2 Add a sepia photo filter above the gradient map layer.
Next, do everything else between your background copy and the gradient map.
3. Apply a hue/saturation/lightness adjustment layer beneath the gradient map. Adjust the hue slider to produce the details and contrast you want on the base image. (The map responds to the underlying tones differently, so you can really get dramatic results this way.)
4. Add a levels adjustment above the hue layer. Draw the white slider to the left to make the pure whites pop. Draw the mid-tone slider slightly to the right to deepen the overall dark tones. If you do this in .01 decrements, you can avoid blasting out the depth of the shadows.
5. Finally, I'll add a brightness/contrast adjustment layer if necessary, although I try to avoid it since it fundamentally changes the shape of the histogram.
It's all much easier in Topaz, though. There's a free trial for the product, so if you really like B&W I'd recommend checking it out.
I do really like B&W I think it adds to the character, although what im trying to achieve with this is it seemed a lot of fine art photography has really low contrast, and that was my goal. so for my taste I prefer a softer contrast at this stage in my life, it just seems a softer image requires a closer look and if its a good image the closer look will last longer and be more memorable ... but i havent done any studies on that theory.
not to say i dont like your image, and not to say its not fine art ... you really seem to know how to bang out the editing and thats a skill. as well i really value your comment to bring out the true blacks and whites, thats a major part about b&w and thanks for the lesson.
I think you're right that the current popular trend in b&w is for the softer images. You especially see it in portrait photography. The beauty of art - including photography - is that there's no single right answer! For me, a successful work of art is one that makes the viewer pause and consider what the artist is trying to convey. Give 20 photographers the same subject to shoot and you'll get 20 dramatically different presentations.
Try this one. I think it's more along the lines that you're looking for with lower contrast but still maintaining the details in his facial lines. (I'll tell you, this is a fascinating subject you've captured. I think we could spend hours presenting him in many different ways.)