I took this photo, while on a Film (i.e. video) shoot recently at a local theater. The band is Naked, and they played extraordinarily. This photo I got to take during the last set, right before leaving. I really liked it, and I hope you do as well.
It should be noted, the focus is not supposed to be on the hand I focused specifically on the guitar.
Thanks for taking a look!
Details:
Canon T3i 50mm f/1.8 Manual Exposure Not sure about EXIF Data as it seemed to have recorded ridiculous values, not sure if they will appear here.
What draws my eye to this picture would be the vibrancy of the colors and the deepness of the blacks. At first glance, the guitarist in the background sprinkled with the glimmer of bokeh was indistinguishable and a surprise to find him in a second look. Which was pretty cool to have him suddenly appear like a picture find.
The composition is pretty good, despite the lack of a distinguishable focus point, my eyes are on the most in focus point, the guitar in the foreground. His hand completely out of focus is a drawback from the overall feel of the photography. However, it is tricky taking photos of live stage shows, with changing lights, moving subjects and variables such as audience, fog, etc.
As far as live performance photography goes, I would qualify this as better than average. I do feel the exposure is fairly good. The composition works. The soft focus gives you the feel of the atmosphere. I'm definitely feeling a lounge/coffee bar type of joint which is known for open mic night and attracting locals with the allure of talented unknown musicians.
wait, is naked the name of the band or was the band naked? they look clothed.
since a critique is so important to you that you are willing to give 50 points away i should add one too. only kidding. i'm happy to give my opinion (though i'm no expert in visual art by any means).
good points:
the lighting in this photo is really good. the subject is very clear.
i like the position of the guitar playing guy on the left
troublesome: (imo)
the guitar is supposed to be the subject yet the playing hand is more focused and more in front and so it "hides" the guitar.
the bright lights at the background are so brilliant and full of color and sharp shapes that it draws the eyes to the right of the picture and away from the subject. moreover as it is out of focus it turns the photograph into a blur
part of the guitar (the neck- is that what it's called?) is out of focus as well.
the object all in all is clear enough (even though at first the eye is drawn away from it) but it lacks imo any emotion. this is a concert and usually they are full of emotion yet i can't tell what it is. maybe high energy and anger as it is an electric guitar but this does not come off in the image.
conclusion:
all in all, not one of your better pictures. this is all of course my opinion. i would like to know what you think of this picture. (hope i haven't been too blunt...)
Don't have premium but I'll use comment: I think the colour and the bokeh works great and brings the the guitar more upfront. I like how the eye wonders first to the lights of backround and then to the sticker of the quitar and the hand playing it. The only thing this photo could be improved was to make the quitar to stand out even more, make it more black I think. Also it might look more "whole" if the left hand was completely in the picture as well. It doesn't look like it would be focused on the hand even if you didn't mention it. Also this might look good in b&w as well with the right contrast but I really like the colour. I think this is a really good photo already and with a little practice you can only improve! Also about the EXIF; don't know if you know but here's a tutorial if you ever need it (how to change the EXIF or add it later) [link]
I think that to be considered great, a photograph has to do two things. First of all, it needs to have a composition and a main focus that will grab you right away, so that when you're browsing through a gallery of small thumbnails, you're immediately drawn to that particular photo simply because it looks so good at first glance. I would say that this photo does fulfill this first step, it's got very nice color and looks very 'dramatic' when you look at it at first. So, if we're following a hypothetical scenario, task one is completed!! You have gotten the viewer to click on your image.
Then of course, the next thing that a good photo needs to do is keep the viewer there. It needs to have interesting details to look at, so that you don't just quickly glance over it say 'oh that's nice,' and then leave. It also needs to have a very sharp and clear focus. I know many people have talked about the focus in this picture, the hand particularly, so I won't go too in depth about that but I personally think this: when you're photographing a small area, or your main focus is a small area, (eg, you chose to just photograph the guitar, and not the person holding the guitar, the other members of the band, the whole stage, etc.) then ALL of that small area should be in focus, or, if you want to blur something, make it completely blurred. You don't want to take a small area and fragment it into even smaller parts by having a different focus on different parts, if that makes any sense. This is a personal thing, so others may disagree, but I find when looking at this photo even though the main focus is supposed to be the guitar, the hand is just kind of... annoying, for lack of a better word. It's very present in the photograph, and it's not blurred enough to obliterate it from interest, so thus it just kinda of sits there, slightly fuzzy.
K. Enough about the main focus. Now for the smaller details that are needed to keep a viewer viewing! Now for me, these smaller details in this photo are really what make this whole shot. I am absolutely fascinated by the ghost guitarist in the background. I can't stop looking at him. He's just the perfect amount of blurred. If you don't look closely, you'd probably not even notice him, but once you do see him then he's just fascinating to look at for some reason, probably because of the colors he's wearing or just the way he's partially blurred, just like a ghost. It's almost like an abstract painting. Even though the main subject could be a little bit more in focus, the background I think still makes up for it and makes a very interesting photo that captures your attention. The colors, the bokeh, everything comes together!
I know you wanted in depth critiques but I do tend to get carried away... hopefully you don't find this one too long!!! I should probably stop typing now
The composition is pretty good, despite the lack of a distinguishable focus point, my eyes are on the most in focus point, the guitar in the foreground. His hand completely out of focus is a drawback from the overall feel of the photography. However, it is tricky taking photos of live stage shows, with changing lights, moving subjects and variables such as audience, fog, etc.
As far as live performance photography goes, I would qualify this as better than average. I do feel the exposure is fairly good. The composition works. The soft focus gives you the feel of the atmosphere. I'm definitely feeling a lounge/coffee bar type of joint which is known for open mic night and attracting locals with the allure of talented unknown musicians.
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