Challenge:Poverty II (Basic Editing) Camera:Panasonic DMC-FZ30 Location: My living room Date: Oct 20, 2008 Aperture: F/2.8 ISO: 100 Shutter: 1/2 secs Galleries:Emotive Date Uploaded: Oct 21, 2008
My lovely mum posed for me and it was such a kerfuffle to set up. We had to drag the TV out of that corner, nearly busting the arial cable in the process and then I decided that floorboards would look poorer than carpet, so I got a spare chunk of linoleum from the cupboard and laid it over the carpet in that corner. It didn't want to lie flat and I had to wrestle for 15 minutes to get it to stay down. I bundled mum up in her goonie and a blanet and sat her on a stool, wasn't happy with that but it was the only chair available. Then I had to faff with the lamp to get enough light and to try and avoid glare, which was a nightmare since she was next to a window and I had to get up on stepladders to lift the curtain and hook it round the rail so it was out of the shot, as I wanted a bare window. Mum was patient as always and I stuck at it and we got this. I know it looks kinda stagey but it's the best I could come up with. I've been told she needed a wooly cap but I didn't have one to use, I worked with what we had. It was my first time using my new DMC-FZ30 camera, turns out I don't actually like it as much as my Fuji.
Edit: Crop, resize, convert to b&w, brightness/contrast using levels, hue adjustment to make it look colder and sharpen.
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I figured this would do pretty badly but it's an honour to have it faved by bspurgeon. :)
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The best part of this picture is your mom, her huddling posture and expression. Well ok, also the pension bit - an underrated part of the poverty spectrum, especially here. (You were able to find a new FZ30?)
i prefer your crop with the heater unplugged., it goes well with the title,, no pension , so hence can't afford to run the heater she has.. makes sense and adds to the picture i feel.. the cropped edit still looks good but i like the addition of the heater,,, you should get some of your DPC work on DA lass..
also i love how your mother is so helpful and supportive of your photography hobby,,, i haven't met her yet but she's just lovely.. lol
Laura I keep coming in to look at your photos, because I believe you are very good and will soon hit the button of excellence.I cropped your photo after I read the comments,this may have overcome them.If you do not like me doing this just PM me and let me know.[thumb]734759[/thumb]
No problem at all Brian, I'm flattered you've taken some interest in my shots. Your crop is pretty good, I just felt that the blank space behind her really helped emphasise the coldness of the room but maybe the unplugged heater was overkill.
Laura I keep coming in to look at your photos, because I believe you are very good and will soon hit the button of excellence.I cropped your photo after I read the comments,this may have overcome them.If you do not like me doing this just PM me and let me know.[thumb]734759[/thumb]
I feel bad for her... she'd be much warmer if she plugged that heater in. :(
She has a great expression, the rain on the window helps with the gloomy feel of desperation. If I had to reshoot this, I think the unplugged heater makes the image look staged. And if there's going to be a shadow on the wall, maybe including the light source in the pic would help (like a cheap lamp with no shade for example). Personally, I think getting in closer and using only the natural light from the window to illuminate her right side would have made this a very powerful shot. Let the rest fall to shadows. Just something to consider.
I like the idea behind this and her expression conveys it really well!
There are a couple of technical glitches tho that really distract.
The composition feels uncomfortable, which can be effective sometimes but it definitely isn't all the time, and in my opinion it detracts from this image. To the left is something interesting -- what's outside the window? To the right is boring -- an AC unit. But we're seeing more of the left than we are of the right.
The lighting is pretty obviously on-camera flash. There's not a whole lot that you can do about it unless you want to buy PocketWizards (about $200-$300US), use really long exposures and a point-and-shoot on a timer (lol this is totally trial and error, but incredibly fun to experiment with), or use available light. For this type of shot, you should try to use every single speck of available light -- even buy white foamboard and set it opposite the window. You're using an advanced P&S, right? So you don't really have the option of increasing the ISO without getting a ton of grain, but shoot on Manual and open the aperture wide. Get your model to hold really really still and use a longer (1/20, 1/3, 1/2, etc) shutter speed.
And...that's about it.
The most distracting thing, although not it's technical, is the fact that the window with the rain is sharper than her face. It draws my attention away instantly.
I think I see what you were going for: too poor to be able to plug in the heater. What doesn't fit is why she would be sitting in a corner by a window looking at the cold rain. Seems to me she would be seeking out the warmest part of the house. Aside form that, technicals are okay. Focus is good. Color cast gives the viewer the feeling of how cold the woman is. The lighting could have been better as the shadow is distracting.
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