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I got this one at the beach with my 500mm mirror, F/8 (fixed), manual focus:



It was a totally unplanned snapshot, but...
I love this image, because:
- Subject in the centre (ok no rule of thirds here)
- Diagonal lines leading to the centre
- Subject is red, other people are black
- Only child and parents are sharp. The other figures look like out of a dream / on a stage
- No-one is looking at you, only the child.

What do you think?

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Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses

I'm not sure about the framing, but overall a nice photo.

Colours a bit dull... Try black & white filter, re-frame and see what you come up with?

OK, suggestion. If you crop out either the left or right thirds, you'll get two very different photos: child looking comfortable with parents, or child looking lost.

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I don't think this should be cropped or altered in any way. It may not be rule of thirds, but that's only a rule of thumb anyway. It's broken but compensated for by the interesting diagonals of the other people.
Well ok there might be one thing to alter, I would probably blur the guy on the left who's only half in the picture. I wouldn't know how but presumably it's easy with photoshop
anyway, killer shot!

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I think this works, its really works with the child in the middle, rules are ment to be broken if you ask me. I get this feeling from this images as if all those grown ups have been sort of brain washed and are just walking thier routin while the little child is full with imagination and just wonders about having a good time breaking those normal routines, he feels some what magestic if you ask me. This is a nice picture i must say! You nailed it

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Hey Alex, that was a nice way to describe the eerie feeling that I have, when looking at that pic.
I even thought of cropping the left-most person out (which would be very easy) but just decided to let him stand there cut in half.
More out of gut feeling than something that I can express properly...

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Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses

Well i think that personaly that the subjects around the boy dont really matter. I didnt even notice him till you posted that, my eyes are to cought up in the sillyness of the boy. I wish i had taken this shot

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Hi Thomas,

I think it's a very attractive and interesting photo. There's amazing clarity and purity about it and the depth of field begins and ends inside the picture, creating drama and leading the eyes.

The particular orientation of the adults, combined with the focus effect - both on those in and out of it - gives the impression that they are almost ignoring him.

They are static, he is animated.
They are all turned away from from him and he is turned towards you.
He is in color, they are (nearly) colorless.

..so many contextual contrasts work together here.

The height from which you took this appears to be at his level, thus making it his world, so to speak.

This is, in my opinion, one of those cases where the strength of the content of the image overrides any rule of thirds. This doesn't mean that you couldn't have achieved the same thing while observing this rule, but you would then have lost this particular and unique capture and that would have been a shame.

Great image! and I'd like to have a lens like that..pretty crisp and clear, even if it is a daytime/summer lens..lol. The reach is amazing.

Cheers

It's a brilliant shot mate! Love the concept too. While I wouldn't necessarily say it would be any better, have you seen what this image can look like when use a Lensbaby-like action in Photoshop? Most interesting.

Zorro

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I like this....... also like a possible pano crop and the placement of the parents to the far right of the image....... just an idea

I love it - the technical depth of field aspect appeals to me!

This image works for me. The kid kind of stands out and differs from the rest of the people in the image.

It kind of remind me of a scene in Shindlers List, where the street and every people is black and white... but there is one girl walking around in a red dress....

Nice picture. I like.

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Same here alex, wonderful shot thomas, this picture is full of interpretations

Quentin

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Quentin

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this is a great shot - your subject is centered but all of the other people who are walking away from the camera lead lines straight into the center - bringing the eye around. the dof is fantastic, and the fact that he's the only one that's really got much color to him at all really makes him pop. this is a wonderful shot - don't change a darn thing about it!

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Omg i love this shot it is so amazing in my opinion.. this kid just sticks out and is the only person looking your way and wearing bright red.. its just simply amazing.. I LOVE IT!!!

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Thank you for all the kind comments. They are confirmation of what I felt, when I first saw the shot. I really was not exactly aware of the potential of this image when I took the shot, interesting!

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Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses