Critique people shots, please

[raven15]

It's time for my 2nd annual "critique me too" thread. These are from a series of ~25 pictures I shot during breakfast. I am especially looking for ways to improve my general technique. Is the concept good or bad? Was the execution good or bad? Any pointers? Keep in mind they were all taken with a Canon Powershot A610 in P mode and RAW, so there is nothing technically fancy going on here. I am mostly interested in the content, composition, etc. that are photographer dependent, but feel free to speculate on equipment or processing, if you want. Or you can just tell me to stop wasting my time :D (you would...wouldn't you).

Focal lengths: 140mm equivalent for the man sweeping, 35mm for the rest, I think.

[photogreen]

In general, what's "bugging" me is that "all the heads" and very close to the edge of the frame (in every shot). It feels kind of "off" to me. I'd crop differently.
Just an opinion. Hope this helps.

[r3g]

Only thing that bothers me is how this hat is cut off in the first one, and the motion blurr in the last one. Other than that great shots

[Rooz]

i would have liked to see a couple more with a wider angle to give the subject some context. there ae alot of people in the background and i would have liked to see more than just a person cooking. theres a story there that i think could be told with a different composition.

imo if you cant isolate your subject more you need to put them in contetx of their environment so the background doesnt distract.

[raven15]

In general, what's "bugging" me is that "all the heads" and very close to the edge of the frame (in every shot). It feels kind of "off" to me. I'd crop differently.
Only thing that bothers me is how this hat is cut off in the first one
I guess these are related. OK, I'll agree. For some reason I have been shooting very tightly with this little camera (80% viewfinder, 35mm lens widest, or small LCD I don't know). It isn't cropping this is how the shots were.

and the motion blurr in the last one.
It didn't bother me that much, but I'll think about it. Not that there's much I can do, I was shooting at max ISO (200) and aperture.

Other than that great shots
Thanks. I think it is actually easier, in some respects, with the little silver plasticky A610 than a DSLR. Apart from the flippy screen, a large black camera just swivel's people's heads around and gets them thinking "uh oh, serious camera!" and they pose or take cover. Maybe a use for a small white Pentax and pancake lens? If only it had a flippy screen ;).

i would have liked to see a couple more with a wider angle to give the subject some context. there ae alot of people in the background and i would have liked to see more than just a person cooking. theres a story there that i think could be told with a different composition.

imo if you cant isolate your subject more you need to put them in contetx of their environment so the background doesnt distract.
This is what I was looking for. I think you hit the nail on the head about why I wasn't quite happy. There's enough background to intrigue, and make you look past the main subject, but when you look there's nothing more to see. I can't go wider, but certainly I can back up farther. Thanks!

Anything else also appreciated!

[Beowulff]

Yep... I agree about the tight cropping issue too.

Apart from the street sweeper, the images are too structurally "busy" because of this IMHO, and you therefore need a wider field of view to force the subject into becoming a stronger point of interest.

Otherwise... nice atmospheric images; good colour balance; a sense of activity; feeling of 'place' well captured.

Cheers :)

[SpecialK]

I like the last one - motion blur or not. The others don't do much for me.

[raven15]

you therefore need a wider field of view to force the subject into becoming a stronger point of interest.

Unfortunately the Canon A610 is limited to a 35mm eq. field of view, so that is not possible, at least not until I get my DSLR up and running again (if ever, it may not happen until July but we'll see). But I'll try to do what I can until then :).

I like the last one - motion blur or not. The others don't do much for me.

Thanks, I agree. I think the others are fundamentally more interesting, but it is true the composition isn't as good.

[Honest Gaza]

This is what I was looking for. I think you hit the nail on the head about why I wasn't quite happy. There's enough background to intrigue, and make you look past the main subject, but when you look there's nothing more to see. I can't go wider, but certainly I can back up farther. Thanks!

Anything else also appreciated!

A good comment/observation from Rooz....and more importantly, a great response from the OP who took on board the comments :)

[tim11]

Good street scene. Cropping too tight and some seem to tilt off horizontal/vertical line; especially the first one.
Motion blur wouldn't worry me either, it gives the impression the subject was moving.

[raven15]

This one better? It came from the same morning, but I didn't post it in the original batch because it needed several degrees of rotation.

[Honest Gaza]

I like it. One subject that draws your eyes immediately....and then your eyes wander down the fence line to the left without too many distractions along the way.