Critiques for my shot of Penang World Music Festival 2007

[noruazumi]

refering to this (http://www.shutterasia.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2632) thread, this is one of the shot that i took at that day.

4450

Camera: Nikon D200
Exposure: 0.006 sec (1/160)
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 42mm
ISO speed: 640
Exposure Bias: 0/6 EV
Exposure Program: Manual
Exposure Mode: Manual
White Balance: Manual

more EXIF here (http://www.flickr.com/photo_exif.gne?id=884788953).

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so i was wondering if i could get some constructive comments & critiques about the shot and what can i do now & in the future to improve this sort of shot (shooting & processing).
for example, should i clone away the spotlights?
are the spotlights too distracting?
should i lower the shutter speed so that i get a bit of motion blur?
should i use smaller aperture to get more depth?

please bare in mind that i shot this using Tamron 17-50mm f2.8, so i can't get close-up shots.
cropping is possible tho'.

so if u happen to have free time, please feel free to drop some comments & critiques.
i'm seriously open for any constructive comments & critiques and i will not take them personally.

thanks in advance u guys. :)

[ShaolinTiger]

I think it's a great shot, just the composition is not ideal.

Cloning the spotlights out wouldn't help as it would just leave a mass of complete blackness at the top of the frame, I already dislike the blackness.

I'd just crop it out all together along with the black peice at the bottom and the drum on the right.

I think that'd make it a lot tighter and neater and give more feel to the shot.

Something like this I guess:

4503

As for colour, contrast, sharpness, exposure and so on - it's all good for me! Just adjusted the curves a little on midtones and sharpened.

I suspect this might make a nice B&W aswell, so here it is:

4504

What do you think?

[noruazumi]

i totally agree about the empty dark spaces left in the photo.
i wanted to crop it away at first but i wasn't very sure.
that's why i seek opinions from other people who have more wisdoms in compositions.

your versions look much much better than mine.
and the B&W conversion is GENIUS! never thought of that.
i was too focus on the attractive yellow, black & green color combinations without considering the alternative version of it.

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i was also did some observations on the dynamic elements in shots of other people.
and i found that motion blurs work well in these sort of shots.
i do got a whole bunch of photos that have motion blurs as i purposely use slower shutter speed to capture them.
but again, i wasn't sure to show them as i don't know whether it will work or not.

what is your opinion on this "dynamic elements"?

[ShaolinTiger]

i totally agree about the empty dark spaces left in the photo.
i wanted to crop it away at first but i wasn't very sure.
that's why i seek opinions from other people who have more wisdoms in compositions.

your versions look much much better than mine.
and the B&W conversion is GENIUS! never thought of that.
i was too focus on the attractive yellow, black & green color combinations without considering the alternative version of it.

Yeah cropping is important, and the use of void space is important, don't put space all around the subject like your original shot or it will feel distant.

You want to take the viewer up close and personal to 'feel' it.

Well for me in these kind of shots the colour often distracts from the feeling, so if you remove the colour you are left with the raw elements of the scene, that's when composition becomes so important.

If you don't mind I share with you a couple of my examples:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/107/316491496_9a11b408f4.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/61/205018259_254cb448b0.jpg

There were bright and colourful lights, but the simplicity of B&W form allows you to appreciate the emotion.


i was also did some observations on the dynamic elements in shots of other people.
and i found that motion blurs work well in these sort of shots.
i do got a whole bunch of photos that have motion blurs as i purposely use slower shutter speed to capture them.
but again, i wasn't sure to show them as i don't know whether it will work or not.

what is your opinion on this "dynamic elements"?

It's very subjective, and it's hard to get right, if wrongly done it just looks like a blur and bad picture.

It works well with a little bit of movement emphasized by stillness, so if they are all still but one person is moving it works well.

If they are all moving, it doesn't work well.

That one it's really down to taste, it's better to stick with clear sharp shots for a start until you get a feel for the movement.

Just in my experience anyway.

[Freaky]

1st look was it was too 'noisy'...

Too many things, and compo not so good...

Then looking at what they were doing, though some motion may add to the feel to the pic.

But with so many ppl, may not work... Angle of the pic also kinda not so good... next time push your way to center stage...:P