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Canon DSLR Challenge | all galleries >> Challenge 114: Centred Composition... (hosted by Vikas Malhotra) >> Challenge 114: ELIGIBLE > The Look!
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02-MAR-2008 Vikas

The Look!

New Delhi, INDIA


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Vikas Malhotra07-Mar-2008 08:18
Thanks a lot Brent, much appreciated, feel better now; was feeling quite bad :-( Glad you enjoyed shooting for this challenge and yes indeed, this indeed is one of the best groups on the net for learning, teaching and improving one's photography and an extremely helpful bunch of people. I do enjoy it in the CSLR Challenges. Thanks.

Victor, thank you so much for taking the time to comment on the colour. Glad to know that its not my monitor, which incidentally I calliberated again. Yes indeed, the wall behind the model is a bright red which may have contributed to the colour cast and also, the light source was flourescent hence the bluish tinge from that I think. Thanks again.

Cheers, Vikas.
Canon DSLR Challenge05-Mar-2008 19:05
The strange coloring in this picture isn't just the pink in the eye (and that needs clarification, too), but other colors elsewhere. I found an easy way to exaggerate what I'm talking about. Take the picture and change the mode to Lab. Now stretch the a and b channels. What you get is an exaggerated view of what I see when looking at the picture: the torso and upper surfaces of the face are green or blue. The lower surfaces, including just below the eyebrows, are red. There is also pink from the veination in the eyes, but that is normal and not so distracting to me.

I think there was a red light source on the photographer's lower left, positioned so that the shadow of the model's nose goes to the corner of his eye. The other light, greenish bluish is almost overhead. This is confirmed by looking at the catch lights in the eye. Perhaps the overhead light is fluorescent and the other one incandescent with WB somewhere between the two. That would result in the color pattern I see.

In other words, I don't think it has anything to do with monitor calibration.
-- Victor
Canon DSLR Challenge05-Mar-2008 07:03
Vikas, please don't feel bad in any way. These challenges are just for fun anyway, and I had fun shooting for this one :-) You know this is a very global community that collaborates to make the CSLR challenges and it amazes me communication is as good as it is. A little misunderstanding now and then is totally acceptable to me.
Absolutely no worries at all mate!
~Brent
Vikas Malhotra05-Mar-2008 06:29
Dear Brent, My sincere apologies for not making it 100% clear. Feel bad about it :-( I sure wish that someone had asked for a clarification. But my fault entirely and sorry about that :-(

Thanks for the clarification on the pink in the yes, will recalibrate my monitor asap. Thanks.

Dear Jim, Thanks a lot and really appreciate it and your comments therein

Cheers, Vikas.
Canon DSLR Challenge04-Mar-2008 22:40
I love this photo. Very well done! But it does seem like a "partial" rule-of-thirds shot to me.

Still, I think the very fact that trying to center the eye in one direction caused you to deviate from what you might have otherwise done (put the eye on a 1/3 intersection) served its purpose for this challenge. By making you do things a bit differently than you would otherwise have done, a goal of the challenge was achieved. And to my eye, this composition is better than what I'd imagine it to be had you put "the eye" at a standard rule of thirds intersection. So while I might not consider this to be centered, as long as the composition was affected by the idea of centering, that's important, I think.

In any case, I cannot imagine this shot working better with any other crop or composition. Perhaps having the eye centered horizontally does create a bit of tension that would be missing had you moved it over to the 1/3 mark horizontally.

Beats me, but it's an attention grabbing image! Jim H.
Canon DSLR Challenge04-Mar-2008 15:01
Vikas, I have to say it is unfortunate to have not stated "centred vertical or horizontal" in the description of the topic. I myself read the "bang in the centre of the photograph" description that is used and to me it meant vertical and horizontal. Shooting for that as I'm sure others did seriously restricted what I could do. I started seeing portraits in the gallery that were definitely not "bang in the centre of the photograph" as I enterpreted it and didn't say anything so as not to start a controversy. Now I wish I had, because that might have brought a more destinct topic description to light while there was still time to shoot with less restrictions for many whom I know had interpreted the topic as I did. No big deal :-)
Regarding your monitor; there is a litle bit of pink in the eyes on my screen too. It really didn't bother me because the image has kind of an overall distorted look about it anyway- kind of like a scary movie poster maybe.
~Brent
Vikas Malhotra04-Mar-2008 11:35
TV thank you for your kind words, much appreciated.

Thank You Lee for your comments. Its always very interesting to hear and understand different points of view on a particular subject. You are right, it could be construed as not being 100% in the centre (which it certainly isnt if one looks at the eye). However, the way I saw it was that this is a photograph of a man whereby he is sitting in the centre of the frame (from neck downwards it is pretty much a straight line down the vertical centre of the photograph) and since I wanted the model's right eye to be the 'centre' of attention, positioned it on the same vertical centre line. I feel that its my fault for not explaining the centred composition theme properly, the subject has to be centred (either vertical or horizontal) but not bang in the centre of the frame.

Thanks Lydia, appreciate it. I am now wondering if my monitor at home is off and needs caliberation as I dont see the pink and red in his eyes. Its a new monitor and for the first time I am working on an LCD (Samsung Myst series, 19") and sure hope its not off. :-( Does anyone else also see the pink and red in the eyes?

Thanks Mikey, appreciate your comment. Replied as above to Lee.

Thank You Penny, appreciate it. Yup that was exactly what I was going for with this challenge, Centred Composition, either vertical or horizontal or dead centre.

Cheers, Vikas.
Canon DSLR Challenge04-Mar-2008 03:16
I thought the center focus referred to the center line, not necessarily dead center of the photo. This fits the definition, to me.
Penny Street
Canon DSLR Challenge03-Mar-2008 18:18
Not to argue, but... the left (his) corner of the mouth is in the center of the frame. His eyes are both on the top third horizontal line, one of which is in the middle, but again, not in the center of the image. My attention is not at all drawn to the corner of his mouth, except to see what IS in the center(?). Still an interesting and attractive image, no doubt, but I have to agree with Lee, off topic. Cheers, -mikey
Canon DSLR Challenge03-Mar-2008 17:41
I hate to go against the grain... but I don't like the red/pink in the eyes... it's not up to your usual standard of processing, in my opinion, Vikas. Although the composition and focus are spot on... the processing blows it for me. *sigh* I want to like it... I really do. *sigh* Sorry. ~Lydia
Guest 03-Mar-2008 17:33
Challenge 114: One of the basic rules of photography is the rule of thirds. Let’s, for a change, break away from this and go in for a Centred Composition and take a picture where the main subject is in the center of the photograph. I haven’t done something like this in a while and am sure most of us generally refrain from putting something bang in the centre of the photograph. But there are many elements which work beautifully inspite of being centred. The challenge here is to make the photograph highly appealing whilst keeping the main subject, centred.

I like it, but it seems off topic to me.
ctfchallenge03-Mar-2008 17:19
Centering of the exagerated eye seems brilliantly on topic. I'm enjoying your sense of that historical portraiture convention. The Renaissance-like colors give an impression that this is a modern take - with wide angle perspective - on that era. -tv
Vikas Malhotra03-Mar-2008 07:27
Thanks a lot Nico, much appreciated.
Thanks Pierre and Brent..... thank You.
Thanks Mikey. Regarding centre, actually the photo was about the look, as in the model's right eye which I put in the centre for this composition (centre as in a vertical centre as opposed to a horizontal one). Under normal circumstances, I would have put the eye as per the rule of thirds, probably in the top right third point but here, put it in the vertical centre.

Cheers, Vikas.
Canon DSLR Challenge03-Mar-2008 00:25
A great image, indeed, but I have to ask: What is in the center? Cheers, -mikey
Canon DSLR Challenge03-Mar-2008 00:05
Quite a look it is- well done Vikas.
~Brent
Pierre02-Mar-2008 18:56
Powerful image!
jnconradie02-Mar-2008 16:00
Fabulously done, Vikas!! The lighting, the pose... everything works so well together to get the viewer to focus on "that look". Well done. Regards Nico