jonsommer Loc: Usually, somewhere on the U.S. west coast.

So, I see all this terrific street photography submitted by Graham Smith, and I decide to get out of the studio and do something totally different for me, shoot unsuspecting strangers with natural light. So, I wander into this beautiful old church and I see this lad, waiting to make his confession to the 'father', turning around to marvel at the story told by the stained glass windows behind him. To me, it has a Norman Rockwell feel to it for some reason. I wondered what someone so young could have need to confess of.

Anyway, for a first-time street photography effort on my part, let me know if you think I should stay in the studio, or is the public safe, even with me out there shooting complete strangers without a strobe.

(Download)

SonyA580 Loc: FL in the winter & MN in the summer

Picking your shot is almost as important as taking the shot. You picked a very tough subject. When you expose the boy correctly, as you did, the whites and colors in the windows blow out. I isolated the windows, added some saturation to the colors and darkened the whites very slightly. I cropped out the second window on the right as I thought it detracted from the shot. Not bad for a very difficult lighting situation.

jonsommer Loc: Usually, somewhere on the U.S. west coast.

SonyA580, great suggestions, thank you - I hadn't thought of removing the window on the right - a 2nd set off eyes would be so useful at times. I was surprised when I saw the image appear on the Hedgehog site because the colors are very different than the original, so much darker and muddier, but the whites in the windows are definitely blown and could use some fixing. Again thank you for looking and commenting.

Graham Smith Loc: Cambridgeshire UK

I agree that the windows need some attention but I really like the concept.

I know, for someone that isn't entirely comfortable with street photography it isn't easy, but it would be better if you could have got him a little more in profile, the light from the window illuminating his face would be magical. You chose a very difficult situation for your first foray into candid, a church where light levels are generally low but with areas of high contrast where the daylight streams in. And a church is a sensitive place to take pictures to boot. Now work on it, not this picture but some new ones :-)

jonsommer Loc: Usually, somewhere on the U.S. west coast.

Graham, now that I've tried it (street photography, that is) the better YOUR work becomes - if you know what I mean. I appreciate your kind kick in the arse to get out there and work on it. Strobes and studios are soooo much easier. Thanks for looking and taking the time to comment.

Country's Mama Loc: Michigan

The subject matter is interesting. I too would have like to see some of his face, but what I really love is the color and texture of his shirt and the way the light hits and illuminates it. The twist of his body accentuated by the wrinkles in his shirt is great. I wonder how this shot would work as a composite with him staring at a beautifully lit stained glass window where you could see the whole window and the story it is telling.

waltchilds Loc: Central Florida

This is a difficult shot to expose correctly, and based on the bright lights of the windows I think you exposed it very well with the light on his shirt and hair. But as others stated if you could have changed the angel slightly to capture part of his face that would have greatly improved this shot. Overall I think this is an excellent first attempt.

Giugly01 Loc: Woodstock, NY

:thumbup:

jonsommer Loc: Usually, somewhere on the U.S. west coast.

Country's Mama, Walt and Giugly01, thank you all for the generally encouraging comments - as you all know, venturing into a new area of photography provides tons of new challenges as you all helped point out. When I went into the old church, I didn't expect to do anything but look, then my eyes eventually adjusted to the dark, I saw this boy turned away and looking at the window and heard the Priest call "next" so I had maybe 2.5 seconds to frame, focus, compose and shoot.

Graham Smith's admonition to always be ready to shoot when doing street photography is a great recommendations but hard to do. I had much more fun venturing into the 'street' than I thought I would, so I'll likely be back here to ask for more help.

Thank you all for taking the time to look and comment.

DavidPine Loc: Fredericksburg, TX

I love the composition. You picked a tough one and I admire your effort. The story is great. Once you overcome the lighting challenge you should do well. You've set a high bar and that is to be admired.

Giugly01 Loc: Woodstock, NY

Actually, thank you for the background on how the shot evolved. Very inspiring story, and makes a huge difference in how I view it now!

minniev Loc: MIssissippi

I am glad to see someone else wandering into new areas of photography where they admit they don't have experience. I am forever dabbling in other genres, so I know those journeys are fraught with challenges. Now, I haven't got up the courage to shoot a posed human being with studio type lighting and probably never will - that's way too intimidating! With this one, you sure picked a hard place to start: dark church/leaded stained glass/bright outside lighting/human stranger as subject. Brave soul!

Interesting concept, and potentially powerful image. I agree with others that a bit more of the face (profile or even silhouette) would offer more appeal than a back view, but this back view works better for me than most back views because you can determine just where his gaze is set. Unfortunately, you can't see enough of what he is looking at to let it make up for the lack of a frontal type view. The existing image can be improved if there's data in those light areas of the stained glass (and the right rim of his head) that you can retrieve. Once you lose the colors and details of stained glass, your image becomes hard to work with, take it from someone who's deleted a bunch of stained glass photos that lacked sufficient data because of these challenges.

If ever there was a need for ETTR, this kind of shot is it. (Disclaimer: I am NOT trying to restart the conversation about ETTR which RG inadvertently launched last week, just making a comment). I recently did some shots at a violin concert in an old church with lovely windows, at midday with the soloist standing in front of the largest window, no flash or tripods allowed. Most were terrible. The ones I used the ETTR method on turned out better than the ones where I raised the ISO and/or metered on the soloist or the whole scene.

RichieC Loc: Adirondacks

I think you have a winner...

Nightski

I really would like to see the person's face for a shot like this. To me the expression is everything in a street shot. I wonder if there was an angle where you could have gotten his face with side light, and part of the window. Keep going to confession, JOn, and you'll get it eventually. With street photography, your ducks all have to line up. You're not in control .... you just have to be in the right place at the right time.

Tom H Loc: St. Louis, MO

I'm strictly a novice so perhaps my two cents worth isn't worth half that much. But, I have to wonder if using HDR might have brought out the colors in the windows without adversely effecting the lighting on the young man. The camera would take 3 to 5 shots at different shutter speeds quickly enough that motion shouldn't have been a problem with this static a subject.

I think Norman Rockwell would enjoy this shot. I certainly do. I can almost feel what the boy is thinking as he considers the story within the window. Seeing more of the window and its story would have been a plus.

As to seeing more of his face -- yes that would have been nice. However, it may have been a bit too intrusive to get anything that could identify the boy considering he is in the church to give his confession. And, in street photography I would think you have to settle for what is there and available at the moment. For me the lighting makes up for the fact we can't see the face.

Tom