The blog serves as a platform for North Idaho College photojournalism students to post their images, share ideas, ask questions and provide feedback on the work created for the class.
Tyler Rowan, of Spirit Lake, Idaho, shows off his dirtbike that he's put over $1000 into on Monday, February 7th, 2011. Rowan prepares to take his dirt bike out for the first time in 2011.
I'll get the one big painful thing out of the way first: the photo isn't sharp. You have a good idea here but I think you need to revisit it and rethink it to make it work. The motorcycle and the car tell us about your subject and that is good. But the photo needs something to really make it interesting. My first thought is that I would be curious if I could make something simpler work. For instance, if you had the guy straddle his motorcycle and you laid on the ground right next to it so you got a bit of the motorcycle engine on one side and some of his face and upper body on the other with the sky as the background you could have shown us a really unique view of this scene with enough information to show us what this guy is about. Jerome talked about trying ten different perspectives and I think this is what this shot needs. You have a strong idea and made a great start. You just need to work the scene and figure out what it is that you want and need to show us. Sorry, I am being a little hard on you but I am saying this as much for me as I am for you. I suck at this and am struggling with some of the concepts we are talking about in class but I keep trying and once in a while I get lucky and some of it works out. Slowly but surly I am getting better at it by practicing it. There are just so many things to think about at one time that it seems overwhelming. The one thing I have decided to use as my rule of thumb is that if I am in pain and horribly uncomfortable, laying in the mud, I am probably doing something right when it comes to perspective. I know Jerome can help you with this stuff much better than I can and his input will definitely point you in the right direction if you ask him about it. He will go way out of his way to help you get this right.
The big issue I have with this image is the fact that this is very much a noun and no verb snapshot. You have a shot of Tyler with his dirt bike, but it doesn't give us any idea into his personality and it's lacking anything that gives us something graphically appealing to look at. Remember, even if you are struggling with communication points and adjectives and adverbs to work into your image, you can always find ways to make it look good. Try a different perspective. Lay on the ground. Get a few shots of him covered in mud and dirt after he's done riding. Anything but a "stand here" photo. Shoot with a purpose.
I'll get the one big painful thing out of the way first: the photo isn't sharp. You have a good idea here but I think you need to revisit it and rethink it to make it work. The motorcycle and the car tell us about your subject and that is good. But the photo needs something to really make it interesting. My first thought is that I would be curious if I could make something simpler work. For instance, if you had the guy straddle his motorcycle and you laid on the ground right next to it so you got a bit of the motorcycle engine on one side and some of his face and upper body on the other with the sky as the background you could have shown us a really unique view of this scene with enough information to show us what this guy is about. Jerome talked about trying ten different perspectives and I think this is what this shot needs. You have a strong idea and made a great start. You just need to work the scene and figure out what it is that you want and need to show us. Sorry, I am being a little hard on you but I am saying this as much for me as I am for you. I suck at this and am struggling with some of the concepts we are talking about in class but I keep trying and once in a while I get lucky and some of it works out. Slowly but surly I am getting better at it by practicing it. There are just so many things to think about at one time that it seems overwhelming. The one thing I have decided to use as my rule of thumb is that if I am in pain and horribly uncomfortable, laying in the mud, I am probably doing something right when it comes to perspective. I know Jerome can help you with this stuff much better than I can and his input will definitely point you in the right direction if you ask him about it. He will go way out of his way to help you get this right.
ReplyDeleteThe big issue I have with this image is the fact that this is very much a noun and no verb snapshot. You have a shot of Tyler with his dirt bike, but it doesn't give us any idea into his personality and it's lacking anything that gives us something graphically appealing to look at. Remember, even if you are struggling with communication points and adjectives and adverbs to work into your image, you can always find ways to make it look good.
ReplyDeleteTry a different perspective. Lay on the ground. Get a few shots of him covered in mud and dirt after he's done riding. Anything but a "stand here" photo.
Shoot with a purpose.