A critical review of some of my street photographs
As a passionate photographer in Malta, I intend to try to give you some additional value by aiding you to improve your photography. I usually look at one of my images and can quickly tell if I like it or not, however at times I am not able to describe why. I have therefore relooked at some of my street photography images (which I shared here https://www.soulfulimagery.com/blog/vivian-maier-photography-for-the-sake-of-photography taken this month and tried to deconstruct them and comment on why I consider that they work well.
During my analysis I will try to review the main important aspects in each image which are:
Light
Subject
Geometry
These 3 aspects are the basic on which I will review the images. The images were all shot with a 35mm camera - a Sony RX1rii camera.
First of all let start with the light - where the subjects are well lit, with light being reflected from the opposite side of the road.
The subjects are very interesting and colourful. I guess this was the main reason why I shot this image.
There is also an interesting flow to the image. The woman at the back seems to be looking out to the second woman which is looking out of the frame. The framing of the door and this flow creates a dynamic flow outside of the image frame, making the image interesting. Also the placing of the 2nd woman at 3/4 also makes for an interesting composition.
In this image, first of all we note an exquisite light which goes directly on the subject (as per the blue arrow). I think this image work so much because of the position of the subject which is just outside of the shade - this makes the eye go directly on the subject.
It is also interesting to note that the composition was created so to have the subject positioned at the two thirds point of the image. Also one shot note the parallel lines at the bottom which create a kind of natural framing (and the subject is also at two thirds height).
The light in this image is rather uninspiring - as is a diffused light from the opposite side of the road. The subjects are rather interesting - placed in a background which takes us back in time and adequately frames in this context.
What I would like to comment is that for this image the fact that the man at the back is looking to the right is the element which creates a dynamic triangle (in white). Such triangle is closed by the man looking down at his mobile phone. The only thing that I would personally change (if it was possible when taking the image) is that I would straighten the background to have the back door straight.
In this case we have some more dynamic light… this is due that in this case the light was direct on the subjects but was diffused by means of a cloud. The subjects create a bit of mystery as it is not clear what is being held in the hand of the red hooded man. Also the colours of create a dynamic element (the red hoodie and green door contrast well).
Again we see the creation of the dynamic triangle. This creates an interesting connection between the subjects and adds a dynamic element to the image.
This image is quite different from the ones previously discussed.
First of all I choose to have this image in black and white for obvious reasons - the dark background creates a natural point of contrast with the subject. In this case the light was on the subject but since the subject is near the entrance of a garage, the light is well absorbed and creates a black background.
From a geometrical point of view, note the framing of the subject inside and at the middle of the created triangle from the composition.
The last image which I will comment on is also a bit different. This image is an environmental shot which makes use of shadows.
It is interesting to note that I timed this image to have 3 balances subjects in this image. This creates a certain sense of harmony in the image. Having subject 2 being the biggest subject makes this much more interesting as the subject is at the two thirds point.
One should also note the interesting background which is well lit and has unusual diagonal lines. These diagonal lines are created by a lightning fixture which was fitted across the street - I found these to be particularly interesting!