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

So, I like to read the comments made by the photographers whose work I look up to and I recently was reading Jay Maisel's new book " It's Not About the "f" Stop" wherein he encourages you to work, work, work and eventually your own 'style' will emerge, as long as it's something new that you haven't seen before and not a copy of someone else's, you can call it your own. Hmmm, well, I thought, coming up with something new in portrait photography isn't gonna be easy, but I had an idea . . .

This original photo was taken with available light, in low light conditions, hand held, and a slow shutter speed. The event was a 'visitation' (they used to call it a 'Viewing' that takes place before the actual internment of a body) and the photo is of the Son-in-Law of the deceased. I had been asked to photograph the event, and to be as discreet and invisible as possible! All the photos were taken with a Nikon D5100 that has the flip-out screen on the back so the camera was in my lap, rather than eye level, so it was less obtrusive, and I used the kit lens. I liked the expression on the subjects face in the original photo but the background was very ugly and distracting, and his black shirt overwhelmed the photo with its dominance. So, about 20 Photoshop layers later, this is what I have. I then converted to B/W, another first for me.

Any C&C comments or suggestions for improvement will be deeply appreciated and considered. Thanks for looking.

Jon

This time with the 'store original' box checked so you can download.

(Download)

Jayne Loc: Wisconsin

I think it would be more flattering if you were to crop off some of his left shoulder and the belly area to above the armpit.....more of a head and shoulders shot. Then the eyes really draw you into the picture.

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

Hmmm, I think I agree in many ways, and I just might do that when it's time to present this group of shots to the client. Honestly, I hadn't even thought of cropping the photo, maybe because I was soooo aware of the sheer size of this individual that I didn't want to loose the feeling of enormity and hugeness that was him, which a crop would likely do. But, he would probably like it better cropped, too.

I guess there's a line between 'artistic comment' and client satisfaction that I need to keep in mind. The client would undoubtedly like the crop better, the photographer in me wanted to convey the intimidating persona of this man.

Thanks so much for your comment, you made me think, I like that.

dpullum Loc: Tampa Florida

I am a cropper by style; according to the CClub judges a bit much. However, Jayne, I would not crop much above the first button, simply because the bod bulk goes along with that "Oh Yea, don't mess with me" face.

Flattering is not the game... rather, at times unflattering is the image impact. Good job, jonsommer

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

Dpullum, thank you for your comment - I think you are a man of my own heart in the way you see the world - this was not intended to be a flattering portrait session, but an attempt to capture the raw emotion on the faces of those coming to pay tribute to a friend or relative who unexpectedly passed on being much too young.

In person this individual is not only a big man, he has a huge presence that fills the room, he is an ex Marine special forces soldier and he still has a chip on his shoulder after all these years. His wife of 16 years told me that he doesn't trust or like most people, and her newest photograph of him is from their wedding.

But he is not the client, and he doesn't get to vote on whether to crop, or not. Since capturing the emotion on the faces of the attendees was the stated goal, and the subject may never even see this photograph, I have taken the thought of pleasing him off the table, as they say.

So, just to test my client's response to this photo, I presented her with a cropped version and this version and asked her which she thought better fulfilled my assignment. She looked at them side by side for a couple of minutes and told me that if my other photos from this event evoked the same emotion from her as this one, she would be very happy with my work.

And the one she liked best . . . . (See below)
.
.
.
.
.
.
is this uncropped version.

Thanks again for your comment and taking the time to look.
Jon

Dave Chinn

Jon, I'm amazed that you would be able to pull off a shot like that from your lap. If it were mine I would darken the background a bit to give a little more separation.

Also, I see catch lights in his eyes. Did you use a flash? The reason I asked that is you said you had to be discreet.
Dave

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

Dave, you're correct, I did not use flash, so, I think the catch lights are from some other light source and, as I recall, there were several round windows around the room, so they are likely from one of those. In regards to the lap shot, if the camera (Nikon D5100) I was using didn't have the flip out screen allowing me to frame my subject and compose my shot without looking through the view finder, I never would have gotten this shot - that, and I was shooting at 1/30 of a second, awfully slow for a hand held shot - so I'm thinking that I just got lucky with this one shot. There were lots that were too fuzzy to use.

I appreciate your suggestion to darken the background for better separation. As this is probably the one and only B&W photo I have ever submitted, I'm finding that B&W has a set of challenges that are very different from color images do, and I have a lot to learn, obviously.

I've included the original color version so you can see the differences - and thank you for your comment, and, yes, we do improve by learning from each other.

Jon

Color version

(Download)

Dave Chinn

Jon, the color version is superb. I believe the only thing I would do is tone down the saturation just a bit. Excellent job, and you know me I usually lean towards the b&w.
Dave

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

Great suggestion, I'll give it a try. Thanks so much.
Jon

tainkc Loc: Kansas City

Picky, picky, picky. My turn: The first thing that I noticed in the B&W version was of part of the background blending in with his earlobe. It just stuck out to me. It is not nearly as noticeable in the color version. Still, very good work, Jon!

JoeJoe

Hi Jon

Great character to shoot

The background to me seems to crowd the shot I think this is caused by the use of a complete overlay and could possibly be toned down a bit to push the background back.... the colour is my favourite and even like the over saturated colours...very pleasing and warm in contrast to the bearded males persona... regards
Joe

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

Hey Tom,
Yep, I see the earlobe thing too, and better in color. Funny, isn't it, how you can look and look and not see something, and when someone points it out to you, you wonder why you didn't see it yourself.

Thank you for looking and for your comment.
Jon

tainkc Loc: Kansas City

Same here, I will either post something or print something and then I see something that I should have corrected well after the fact. Typical.