Flack Block Historical Building

[mcopan]

I drive by this building, that I helped renovate, on a regular bases. While stuck in rush hour in Dowtown Vancouver I looked over and this concrete sculpture on the side of the building caught my eye. Could this be improved? Please and thank you.

[Matt K.]

Depends what you want to achieve with this image. I would probably have cropped it so that the face would be the main attraction. Wonder if it is sharp enough for that, though, looks a tad soft.

[mcopan]

I was trying to shoot the face as the primary detail with the rule of thirds in mind. I can always bump up the clearity on the raw file I shot.

[Matt K.]

Rules: there are none! Think outside the box! See things like - YOU - see them, not like the RULE sees them. Communicate YOUR vision to the audience. Remember the painting of a Campbell Soup can? This is also art. It is what the artists saw. To me, personally, that is what makes an image great: the vision YOU had experiencing it, at that particular point in time.

[mcopan]

Interesting thoughts, Thanks

[Matt K.]

Most welcome ....

[Mad Aussie]

I like it. I might have tried to create a bit more contrast here perhaps. I also may have either zoomed in closer to the face to make it the main focus, or zoomed out to include more of the sculpture.

[Bambi]

I agree with the contrast and the crop. If you can go back try a different angle-like from below and see what that gives you.

[Iguanasan]

Matt makes a wonderful point but I would just like to add a bit. The rule of thirds is a good compositional guideline but it is only a guideline and you have to take into consideration the other elements in the shot. The stonework on the right side of the image has the same visual strength as the face and so simply putting the face on one of the thirds is not enough to isolate it as the subject of the image. The rule of thirds works well with subjects that are visually isolated from the rest of the image. My shot below for instance has the branch and berries on the third but it's not the only thing that isolates it from the background.

[Marko]

I agree on the more contrast here, but the shot needs something 'more' imo. You've done a decent job with this subject and aside from major PP play, I do not see how this can be greatly improved.
That 'more' should have been done at the time of capture and could have included dramatic light, a more unusual angle etc.
It's very difficult to make a straight 'drive by shot' sing without getting out of the car for some more intimate exploration of the subject.
Just my 2 cents - hope it helps - Marko