Street Magician - Whip it good!

[chopsky]

Hey guys

One of the first photos I took with my new dSLR.
A street magician performing on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Would care for some opinions on the composition and the B&W conversion.

Thanks!
Grant

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/211/463374190_20de4f9e16_o.jpg

[Cantfeelmyfingers]

I really like the angle, it's like being a small child, seeing everyone by looking up! The actual performer though seems a little.. hmm I don't want to say dull, but he doesn't stand out enough, although the cropping with the audience, and even the light post cropping above him. All in all, really neat photograph!

[quark]

You might try croping out the guy on the right in the foreground since he may be causing subject confusion with the magician.

I agree nice job on the angle and creative perspective.

[gchappel]

I used to do closeup magic- pro/semipro level.
We try to get the eyes focused on our hands and our faces- at least as a magician I think photos should focus there as well. My job was to control which you were looking at and when.
Here the hands blend into the background of the building. Shift your position just a little to the left- and the hands are backdropped by the sky- I think that would pull more focus to them. You caught his facial expression well. I like the yellow light on the stoplight. The yellow is short and I think helps point out you captured a short moment in time. Cars are still moving through the intersection- showing the congestion and hustle, yet here is a group stopped to watch magic.
Unfortunately the foreground here clutters the image. On the left I have the picture of two overweight crotches. On the right is a guy in flipflops that looks bored. Crop out the foreground, shift the shooting position a little and I think you have a winner.
Now take my opinions for what they are worth- I post and get whipped here as well!
Gary
gchappel

[chopsky]

Hey guys

Well, I took what you said, and obviously some of it I agree with, some I dont. Each to their own at the end of the day right ;)
Personally I'm quite happy with the composition of the photo, but I do agree with you guys that there is a confusion of main subjects.
I've decided to put up another version where Ive added some serious vignetting to the photo. I think it helps put more focus on the magician and what he's doing. I also think it 'dulls' the image a bit. :/ So not entirely happy with it

Let me know what you think though. It might be a terrible mistake.
Unfortunately I HATE the fact that I've had to photoshop it this much (i.e. fake all this vignetting). Guess I'm a bit of a purist at heart.

Cheers again
Grant

Please note: Im using a TERRIBLE LCD at the moment with disgusting black levels. Cant really tell how much vignetting I've added to the picture, as it'll probably look very different on your monitors as it does on this one.

http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/8472/magician22too1.jpg

[Marc Muench]

Good vignette Grant:clap I agree that it focuses my view to the area of contrast - the center! Funny when you consider the fact that for years engineers have attempted to elliminate vignetting from lenses:scratch. Everything is a tool if used correctlly:ivar

[Cantfeelmyfingers]

Now it's perfect :)

[mr peas]

I like it. I like the face expressions from the crowd and the magician. The slight vignette closes into the subjects even better. Also, the very low view gives the photo a really good 'im there with you' feel.

However, I would do a much closer crop and get rid of the legs on the left hand side because it doesn't complement the magician and the other subjects or help frame them.

I would say, crop it from a few inches atop the person's head on the right, go left until you hit the nearest to the end piece of the street light's sign but not too close that you cut off a part of the magician's foot.

Also, I like the way you caught the light at 'yellow'. Sort of like 'Caution!'.
Thats my $0.02 ;)