Defeated. .....by
DeveComment by JakeKurdsjuk: Critique Club Comment:
A very stark and honest portrait. You did a wonderful job conveying the circumstances of who he is and what his life condition is at the moment. Sometimes, when people wear their lives so openly, all we need to do is aim the camera and press the shutter button and it's all there - and I believe you were able to do just that. I am reminded very much of a series of homeless portraits done by Michael O'Brien in a book called "Hard Ground".
When shooting portraits getting the eyes sharply in focus is critical, and I find his right eye to be a little soft, likely due to the slight tilt away from the camera. His other eye is perfectly in focus. It's not enough to truly worry about, but it was enough for me to notice.
I'm not a fan of the color treatment or the lighting here. Just way too yellow/amber in the tinting. I love a good sepia or coffee toner on a B&W, but not here, and definitely not to this extent. This screams stark, plain black and white to me. And while I love the direction of the light and the shadows it creates I find that the one side of his face is just blown out a little too much. The hands on a man like this are as important as the eyes, and I think you lost a lot of important details there, from the dirt under his nails to the dryness of his skin. I would have also liked to have seen a little more detail in his eyes - more differentiation between the pupil and the iris.
I think you have a wonderful photo here, but just need to revisit the post-processing. I think with some careful rework it can be something special. And I agree with Devinder, "Defeated" is the antithesis of what this says to me. Perhaps "World-Weary"?
Photographer found comment helpful.
