EXERCISE: Contact sheet

[Richard]

In this exercise you will be encouraged to hone two skills: editing and working the scene. The subject is open, but you must present three to five shots of the same scene and decide which you like best. Submit your shots into this thread in a single post and tell us which shot is the keeper and why. You may take as many shots as you like, but please limit the number posted to five. The exercise will run from now until 6 February. As usual, this is not a contest and there will be no voting.

[Syncopation]

Great idea for an exercise, although I'm not surprised at the lack of response.

David Hurn/Bill Jay talk at length about the value of contact sheets in the book 'On Being a Photographer', indeed David Hurn's talk at the recent 'Magnum Contact Sheets' book symposium in London explained how the contact sheet can tell us a great deal about how a photographer arrives at THE shot and the fact that many of the great photographers show similar approaches in their work.

That said the introduction of digital means that there is little before and after, as editing is often done on the fly, something I'm guilty of myself. Martin Parr even went as far to call the recent Magnum book the 'Epitaph for the Contact Sheet'.

The following images are rare in that I chose not to delete them as I thought they each had merit, especially when viewed as a series. Perhaps it's something I should do more often!


http://syncopation.smugmug.com/Other/Contact-Sheet/i-DnFZqW5/0/L/DSCF0662-L.jpg (http://syncopation.smugmug.com/Other/Contact-Sheet/21113631_zrMhxz#%21i=1679452781&k=DnFZqW5&lb=1&s=A)

http://syncopation.smugmug.com/Other/Contact-Sheet/i-7gf3kKC/0/L/DSCF0663-L.jpg (http://syncopation.smugmug.com/Other/Contact-Sheet/21113631_zrMhxz#%21i=1679453482&k=7gf3kKC&lb=1&s=A)

http://syncopation.smugmug.com/Other/Contact-Sheet/i-KPWM6f7/0/L/DSCF0664-L.jpg (http://syncopation.smugmug.com/Other/Contact-Sheet/21113631_zrMhxz#%21i=1679454097&k=KPWM6f7&lb=1&s=A)

http://syncopation.smugmug.com/Other/Contact-Sheet/i-9TgbFmq/0/L/DSCF0665-L.jpg (http://syncopation.smugmug.com/Other/Contact-Sheet/21113631_zrMhxz#%21i=1679454667&k=9TgbFmq&lb=1&s=A)

[Quincy T]

Alright, here we go:
1.
http://quincytennyson.smugmug.com/Photography/Rebel-Without-a-Cause/i-rv6jgDp/0/L/Sequence-2-L.jpg

2.
http://quincytennyson.smugmug.com/Photography/Rebel-Without-a-Cause/i-tRbPTQv/0/L/Sequence-3-L.jpg

3.
http://quincytennyson.smugmug.com/Photography/Rebel-Without-a-Cause/i-9xVPfqG/0/L/Sequence-L.jpg

4.
http://quincytennyson.smugmug.com/Photography/Rebel-Without-a-Cause/i-NRnZ2FD/0/L/Sequence-4-L.jpg

To me, #1 is the keeper. I think #2 is very strong next to it, but with the umbrella coming out of the head, that creates a problem. #3 and #4 have their own issues, but I like the juxtaposition of the different "uniforms" in 1 and 2, and 1 is the best between those in my opinion.

[Richard]

Sure is quiet in here. Hope you're all out working the scene :wink

Here's my contribution:

1.
http://rsinmadrid.smugmug.com/photos/i-sG7sG33/0/XL/i-sG7sG33-XL.jpg

2.
http://rsinmadrid.smugmug.com/photos/i-BGM3RVC/0/XL/i-BGM3RVC-XL.jpg

3.
http://rsinmadrid.smugmug.com/photos/i-SGCcvcS/0/XL/i-SGCcvcS-XL.jpg

4.
http://rsinmadrid.smugmug.com/photos/i-MtTnQpm/0/XL/i-MtTnQpm-XL.jpg

5.
http://rsinmadrid.smugmug.com/photos/i-snkrHCg/0/XL/i-snkrHCg-XL.jpg

I took about half a dozen more, but these were the ones I liked best. I'm not entirely happy with any of them--by concentrating on the cross, I neglected to get the mime's face. Ooops. Initially, I liked #2 best because of the direct interaction and because the cross was entirely visible in the frame. But on later viewings, I think #3 is my favorite, despite the post blocking the cross a bit. The guy in the white shirt is clearly checking the mime out, while the rest of the people are utterly indifferent, and both reactions are of interest.

Mimes here tend to work the same areas, so hopefully I'll get another chance sometime in the future. Sometimes working the scene means going back on another day.

[Richard]

@Syncopation: I know which is my favorite (and I like them all), but you didn't tell us which one you like best. :ear

@Quincy: Tough call between #1 and #3, IMO. What was the event?

[Quincy T]

Richard, I agree with you on #1 and #3. There's something I like about the unusual position of the girl in the "background" on #3, but I like the juxtaposition for #1. These were taken at the March for Life in D.C., and were part of that whole shoot. This is the best iteration of one shot being different in multiple frames, so I decided to post it.

For your sheet, I think #1 is by far the strongest.

1) The subject is clear, and the body appears to be in motion with clearly defined form.
2) There two people walking past him and toward you appear parallel and add this interesting structure to the image
3) The background is the least distracting, and really helps you concentrate on what's in front.

With that said, I think it needs additional work in Lightroom (or whatever you're using) to bring the eye directly to the subject. Right now I feel like the he is lacking contrast. Or something. Maybe I'm wrong on that, but I just know it looks a little off.

Critique aside, I just love #1. I found it really appealing quickly, and looked at it for a while.

[lizzard_nyc]

1.
http://lizzardnyc.smugmug.com/Other/Superbowl-2012/i-hS9FpXV/0/L/sp-9-L.jpg

2.
http://lizzardnyc.smugmug.com/Other/Superbowl-2012/i-5qB5RJv/0/L/sp-11-L.jpg


The one I chose
3.
http://lizzardnyc.smugmug.com/Other/Superbowl-2012/i-zz2NJZJ/0/L/sp-10-L.jpg


I picked the last one because I liked the crop, the fact that I was a little closer to them, the landscape mode and the facial expression, even the direct eye contact and the fact that you don't know what they are watching, it could be the Republican primaries or the Supebowl :)

[Richard]

... it could be the Republican primaries or the Superbowl :) I'm guessing sports. :rofl Fun shots and I agree with your choice.