Candids

Here's a shot I took while on a trip back to the UK last October. Along the banks of the Thames in London were a troupe of street performers. It was a bright, late autumn day, lots of tourists walking around, enjoying the sunshine and the spectacle. It's all too easy to capture portraits when they're aware of what you're doing, and strike a certain pose for you, but candids offer a different type of study. It's the unguarded moment that's a joy to capture when it comes off. This young lady was busy preparing for her day on the street, performing as a mime artist in the traditional style. I used my 200mm lens for this one, and again on AF (auto focus). The crop is a simple one, and I've deliberately left in plenty of foreground for two reasons. 1. it 'leads' you into the shot, to the main subject - the young girl herself, and 2. this is her 'stage' and I wanted that to be an integral part of the shot.

What I've also done, in order to accentuate the 'loneliness' of the performer, if you like is to drain the colour from the background and to 'pop' in the colour on the performer herself. I think it gives the image more 'life'. Given that the background was a confusing mish-mash of bushes, she now stands clear of all of that, and the focus is simply on her. I think it works well, and I hope you do too.

There are plenty of tutorials out there on the web that explain the photoshop technique known as 'popping'. Just perform a Google search to find some. It's an interesting technique and is really useful in situations such as this one to give a more 'artistic' feel to the shot.

Again, just click on the image to see a larger version. Comments:critiques welcome as always.








Until the next time,

Au revoir.


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Please do not use this image for personal or business use. If you'd like to use this, or any other image, the right to publish can be negotiated with me, the copyright holder. Individual prints can be purchase online at www.chantography.com