Portrait-1.jpgby
abcmorganComment by LucidLotus: It has been a delight to look through your portfolio, you may not have a large number of images up but they are all excellent. You have a wonderful eye for B&W photography and that just happens to be my favorite kind!
I decided to do my indepth comment on this image, primarily because it didn't have any comments yet, all of your other shots are excellent from what I've seen so I couldn't think of another way to choose amongst them.
First and foremost the B&W choice was good here, there's nice strong blacks and clear whites which help make for a good B&W image. The greys are limited which is nice since that tends to muddy up B&Ws in my opinion.
The focus is spot on, you've some very nice clarity in your subject's face and the background is a pleasing blur, nothing stands out there focus-wise as a distraction. That said I do find the face? in the background to be a bit distracting since its lighter nature is surrounded by a deep black so it shows up more. The table or desk that's in the background doesn't have this same issue mainly because its a large mass and that helps it blend itself into the background but that small thumbprint of a light face really draws my eye away from the main subject and I can always see it in the corner of my vision field when I am studying the man's face. Perhaps cloning it out so there's just a dark blob there would help.
I think the lighting works well here, there is an even gloss of it over the entire image and then a more intense beam coming in from the left that helps create some nice shadowing on the man's face and highlights his beard and mustache. I do think its unfortunate that the light didn't extend enough to light the area of his eyes more though. There's a wealth of experience and interest in his eyes from what I can see right now, I think that would be drawn out and more readily evident if a bit of a fill light or reflector had been placed to the lower right. That may not have been possible though, it looks like there may been a candid aspect to this image so setting up might not have worked - don't know for sure though, that's just speculation.
I think the composition is good, I like his head tilt, it keeps the image from being balanced too much to the left and the blurred background gives just a hint of an atmosphere to the image. Not enough that I can determine where you are and what's going on, but it has its own dynamic that leads me to believe there is activity and that adds a to the image in a subtle way for me.
My favorite part of this image is the man's crow's feet, they make me envision him squinting into the sun often, laughing often, and possibly even crying often. There's a so much of life's experience in his face and a lot there for a viewer to study, but its those simple wrinkles by his eyes that I'm facinated with, then I get lost in those eyes trying to think of what his life has been like, he could be anyone and experienced anything and its all there in those eyes (which is why I wish they were just bit better lit).
I really hope you add more images to your portfolio, I can't wait to see what you'll share with us next - your touch with B&W is impressive and I hope I can attain as much success with the genre some day. I've added you as a favorite photographer so I can keep an eye out for anything new. Good luck with your future creations!
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