Medium Shots: I like the first one because of the warm lighting and i hope i captured the smallness of the "restaurant." I think it would be interesting to go back and keep that in mind and the old- run down look of the place. For example.. all the dvds and music they have, the tape on the ceiling, big hole in the ground, things like that. The second photo I like because of the angles and the pattern the patties create. What do you guys think?
Environment Shots: This is Alisha Syth who works at a little hamburger joint in Kellogg ID called Humdinger. She has worked there for three years and is the big bad manager :) So in one of the shots I got her just staring out the window, which she says she does a lot. She has big dreams of making it as a musician and plans to leave that little town. The other shot is of her taking orders over the phone in a relaxed or lazy position. I also have a shot of her smokin cigarettes in the back (they are allowed) but need to make it more interesting. I wasn't sure if these were too close to being med. shots? AND I am having problems with the Detail shot... I think this will be where i capture the oldness of the place and the silly things that are laying around..like makeup, ash trays, hair stuff etc?
These photos are not too bad in my opinion. I think the photo of Alisha taking a phone order makes a decent overall shot that shows something a little different than food preparation. The French fry shot is a fairly good medium shot except for the thing sticking into her head. The ketchup shot could have made a great detail shot had you made it a closeup of the squirting ketchup with just the tip of the bottle and the bun in the photo. Maybe if you took a couple of photos of her on a smoke break or helping a customer (possibly from the outside of a drive up window or something like that) you could vary what you are showing us.
ReplyDeleteJerome talked about my overall and medium shots needing to show something very different. That is probably the most important thing for you also in my opinion.
Try for some kind of emotion if you can. It is fair game to talk while you are shooting and if she happens to crack a smile because you made a joke, I think it is fair game to shoot it because you did not tell her to do it. I may also be very wrong about this.
I think you made a great start and just need to finish up a few little details now to complete the story. This makes an interesting topic. Try to remember to get low and shoot up for an unusual camera angle if you can.
Everyone I have talked to about their shoot has had to take at least one additional stab at it. I think if you tried again, you could finish this up in a hurry. I'm having a really hard time with my subject and have lined up a second shoot on Thursday and an entirely different subject on Saturday because I do not currently think I can get what I need out of my current subject.
Good job!
The top shot for your medium has a great perspective and nice motion. The color of the condiments and the background info adds to the image as well.
ReplyDeleteThe overall shot with her on the phone is pretty good. Nice body language, I just wish there was a bit more to it so we can see more of her workplace. But it's still nice and offers a bit more of her comfortability at work and is a little more interesting than the other overall.
And as Andreas said, it's okay to talk to your subject. But be careful because you don't want to prompt a reaction. That's just as bad as asking them to do it. Remember, if you are supposed to be that fly on the wall, you want to have as little impact on the situation as possible. And if you do cause a change in the situation, you shouldn't use that as a reason to shoot because it's no longer your subject reacting to your environment or situation, but them reacting to the you.
For some reason I really like the photo of her taking the phone order. It's funny because the photo only works because of the pen and pad. I like that you didn't cut off her legs because I think the shoes give insight into her sense of style.
ReplyDeleteI also like the first photo because of the color in the ketchup and the motion in her arm. Compositionally, both photos are solid too.
Ditto to everyone elses comments. But here are my ideas for how to show some more detail. I think it would be cool to have a close-up shot of her flipping the burgers with the focal point being of the spatula or the patty and maybe have a little bit of blur to show the motion. Or if she's a fancy flipper it might be cool to freeze the patty in mid air if it ever occurs. Also, if this happens at all, a close up shot of her putting a big order of food on the counter with the focal point on the food with her blurred out in the background. I don't know how this joint works so those are just some general ideas. And, since this is a small cluttered kitchen, I would recommend to make sure you don't get any obnoxious or distracting obstructions on your subject like in the second medium shot where something is protruding into her head. Unless of course it has a purpose of being there. And last Kitchens can have some relly cool colors so if you could ever get a shot incorporating different condiments or vegetables or anything else with color in the shot I think it could turn out really nice if you play your cards right.
ReplyDeleteCaption: Alisha Syth manager of Humdinger, a little hamburger restaurant, stays busy taking orders and flippin' burgers on 2/23/11. She has worker at Humdinger for 3 years and really enjoys the chill atmosphere of the restaurant.
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