Lesotho (C&C)

sarkozy

Out hiking through a mountain village, this kid ran up to me and stood cheekily but proudly
until I took his photo. I showed it to him and he ran off delighted.

Thecageyone

Great picture, the kid is a little too central for my liking though. I'd crop it so he's to the left or right, and closer up, more portrait style. 'Tis a very cool shot though.

AnimalRights

Besides the centralness as cageyone said he is just not natural enough, too rigid in his pose.
and he is lost in the vastness of the picture, I also feel like he is being exploited, harsh I know but...rich white tourist etc

AnimalRights

Actually reading your story again and reading my reply seemed pretty harsh, I am just saying what I see in the picture.
I would've put this in the random thread perhaps and not for c&c which can be a cruel place as a picture gets dissected,
Again sorry if I seemed overly critical.

Thecageyone

With shots like this you really need to have the story behind it along with. If we didn't know the kid ran up to be photographed of his own accord, and pulled that pose without being prompted, then you might think similar to the above. For that reason I'd make sure to give a brief description underneath wherever you use it.

I like his pose though, the dirty grin, clenched fists, acting all big for the camera. he doesn't look troubled or sad or anything.

oshead

I like the image and the story behind it. But just to point out a few technical flaws which you requested.

What strikes me most is the high contrast of the scene. Its an environmental portrait of him and the young boy should be recognizable at the very least. His face is shrouded in darkness here. This is a complete no no for a shot like this.

If it wasn't a portrait, i'd say it's fine. But he seemed willing to get his photo taken so you the photographer should take good advantage of this and take a moment or two to set up the shot.

A few things I would have tried. Move out of the direct sunlight. Surely there must have been a tree he could have stood under. This would have the effect of evening up the light. The boy has very dark skin so you should try and expose for that. Probably by setting the camera to spot meter mode and take a reading from his face. You'd probably have to underexposing it a little maybe by as much as full stop to get it right in camera. If it's not possible to get out of the direct sun then you should use a little bit of fill flash to lower the contrast on his face. His pose could be a bit more dignified. Maybe stand him side on a little facing into the scene and off center a bit.

By taking these simple steps the image would look less like a snap shot which I presume is was goal.

Hope this helps.

Thecageyone

The face is a bit dark alright, but he did say the kid just ran up, posed, then ran off again. not much time to go fetch a reflector

oshead

Thecageyone wrote: »

The face is a bit dark alright, but he did say the kid just ran up, posed, then ran off again. not much time to go fetch a reflector

Em.... He didn't say exactly that.

sarkozy wrote: »

Out hiking through a mountain village, this kid ran up to me and stood cheekily but proudly until I took his photo. I showed it to him and he ran off delighted.

I think he'd have had time. Besides, I didn't mention anything about a reflector. Though it would have been handy.

Borderfox

a lower viewpoint would have worked better

Thecageyone

oshead wrote: »

Em.... He didn't say exactly that.



I think he'd have had time. Besides, I didn't mention anything about a reflector. Though it would have been handy.

I didn't say you mentioned a reflector, joke ... y'know :rolleyes: :P And the kid pretty much ran up, posed, looked at the image then ran away again. I doubt he had time to go looking for a tree with the kid in tow.

AnimalRights

He could've adopted the kid no?

Thecageyone

AnimalRights wrote: »

He could've adopted the kid no?

Or sell the picture to Madonna, who can then adopt him to join her clan

gerk86

technical flaws? Because portraits must adhere to strict guides?

Why not C&C the actual image, not what it could of been.

Tall, straight stance, shoulders back and open, fists clenched says pride but his grin still makes him a kid.

Thecageyone

gerk86 wrote: »

technical flaws? Because portraits must adhere to strict guides?

Why not C&C the actual image, not what it could of been.

Tall, straight stance, shoulders back and open, fists clenched says pride but his grin still makes him a kid.

I pretty much did C&C ...

Thecageyone wrote: »

Great picture, the kid is a little too central for my liking though. I'd crop it so he's to the left or right, and closer up, more portrait style. 'Tis a very cool shot though.

Thecageyone wrote: »

With shots like this you really need to have the story behind it along with. If we didn't know the kid ran up to be photographed of his own accord, and pulled that pose without being prompted, then you might think similar to the above. For that reason I'd make sure to give a brief description underneath wherever you use it.

I like his pose though, the dirty grin, clenched fists, acting all big for the camera. he doesn't look troubled or sad or anything.

melekalikimaka

gerk86 wrote: »

technical flaws? Because portraits must adhere to strict guides?

Why not C&C the actual image, not what it could of been.

Tall, straight stance, shoulders back and open, fists clenched says pride but his grin still makes him a kid.

yeah i dont quite get this comment

sarkozy

Thanks for the comments, guys. It's a good discussion. Lots of important points and issues raised.

The compositional thing: to me, if anything, he's not central enough. I honestly had a split second to take this and had to make a quick decision. I decided to centre the kid because I wanted to introduce some kind of edginess to the photo, a sort of uncertainty about where the kid is in the world. Sounds airy-fairy but the thing about Lesotho is people's lives are fairly precarious, and as a kid, he has so many possibilities, so I felt it reflected the nature of childhood, too. I do agree, the angle's slightly too high but I was on the side of a steep hill (Lesotho is 80% mountains).

Exposure: unfortunately I didn't have my flash as I was hiking (Usually, I would use it). Lighting in Africa is so harsh and direct, and little option for cover. I did also feel that the kid deserves some anonymity.

I do also think the phot is different to your typical 'smiling black baby' shot (and boy I've taken some of those).

As for the comment about exploitation, well, yeah. Part of my comments above probably also have to do with my discomfort about the whole thing. I'm not a tourist here, I'm an aid worker (slightly different). (And wouldn't ordering the kid [who didn't speak English] about for me to take a nice photo not be more exploitative? I was happy that he consented so enthusiastically.)

Though I'm not 100% about the photo aesthetically or about the politics surrounding it, I like it and I felt I wanted some feedback.

Well, there's a little more about my intentions and thoughts behind the photo.

AnimalRights

Lovely reply but one thing is bugging me, why are you taking time off from running the Republic of onion people?

sarkozy

AnimalRights wrote: »

Lovely reply but one thing is bugging me, why are you taking time off from running the Republic of onion people?

Yewha?