This week we have a photo submitted by documentary photographer Brian who took this photo of during one of his family sessions. This image was shot with a Fuji X-E2, ISO 3200 and f2.

Critique today comes from Erika and Heather.

Erika:

Hi Brian! Thanks for sharing this image with us. I love how much there is to look at in this image and, while I’ve not seen the original file, I’m certain converting it to BW was a great choice. There’s some real nuance present in this image that would be easily lost with the amount of color that is inevitably present in a kitchen like this one.

I think the stance you’ve chosen is the best one as squaring up here would have caused you to loose the little boy crouching behind the the counter.

You’ve done a nice job of composing the different elements in this image as well. You have dad’s head nicely framed in the window behind him. Mom’s head, in the background, is nicely placed in the empty space provided by the cabinet. There is only some slight overlap with the boy towards the floor where he aligns with the bottom of mom’s legs and has a bit of counter top intersecting the top of his head. I really love that the dinosaur in the foreground is nicely placed in the dad’s reflection, providing just enough contrast for that really quirky point of interest to “pop” in this image.

I am curious why you chose to make the father the focus of this image. The story I see unfolding is the little kid creeping behind the counter, making a face, unbeknownst to their father. Thus giving them the action and the primary place in this story and the father has the anticipated reaction and feel secondary in this moment. While the dad does have a strong gesture in the way he is leaning over the counter and his expression is engaging and intense those elements are not quite dynamic enough to compete with the action happening around him.

You might consider playing with the image and making a dramatic crop to cut out the child on the floor, just to see how it impacts the image. I suspect doing that might make the image a stronger environmental portrait, though you would lose some driving storytelling elements.

Heather:

Thank you for sharing your work with us. What great layers you have. Each of the family members in their own space and the dinosaur in the foreground.

This is completely my personal preference but I would love to see this in color. I am sure B&W was the best choice but I would still like to see it both ways 🙂

I am curious why you waited for a moment that the dad was looking at the camera vs a moment when he was also busy?

 

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