frank theriault wrote:
Hi, Paul,
I don't disagree with anything Lasse said. I, too found that while the dancers in the foreground were caught doing interesting things, the people in the background distracted from that.
Not to me!
I thought the dancer, subject of the photo, mildly interesting, but I spent most of my viewing time observing the crowd and their body language!
I've seen a ton of break dancers, and while I admire their skill, I don't find it worth my time.
However, look at that fat man in the background! Each shot shows his increasing pleasure in what he's watching. He's getting more kick out of the show than almost anyone else in the crowd!
Contrariwise, look at some of the other late teenagers on the sidelines. Connected to the dancers or not, they're the very picture of boredom! Or jealousy, or distain, or whatever else, but those faces are a study in feigned indifference, all by themselves!
Carefully look at the rest of the crowd. A spate of expressions, for all to study! <g>
You could crop, but even then, you'll still get the odd foot or hand or whatever in the background that one may find distracting. Cropping what you presented to us would help immensely, but even better, think of a few things for next time (not that you'll go shoot street dancers again tomorrow, but you know what I mean, generally, next time you're in a similar situation).
Try to keep the background as uncluttered as possible. Given what Lasse and I said, that's a given.
Another idea may be to try different angles, like shooting from different elevations, so that you're looking down, and get more pavement in the background.
It may be absolutely impossible to shoot without
getting spectators in the background, as they may be
surrounding performers in a circle. In that case,
consider opening up the aperture a bit. Or, a lot. Try shooting as wide as your lens will go. That way
you should get the background spectators out of focus
due to the narrower depth of field (DOF). Sharp
subject with blurry background can be very effective
in separating a subject from an objectionable or
uninteresting background.
True, but it depends on your point of view, doesn't it. I found the spectators far more interesting than the performers! <g> I'd want them portrayed sharply, so I can enjoy "the rest of the show."
I'm a people watcher.
In a crowd in a stadium, I watch the watchers as much as the activity on the field!
To each his own...
keith whaley
HTH.
BTW, welcome aboard!!
cheers, frank
===== "The optimist thinks this is the best of all possible worlds. The pessimist fears it is true." -J. Robert Oppenheimer
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