Watermill - portrait - E-M5 + 75mm

Jim Salvas wrote:

The 75 is w great lens for portraits and viewing this at 100% shows how sharp it can be. However, there are just too many things wrong to make this a good portrait.

First, the watermill, which occupies about 75% of the frame, is out of focus. If it's important enough to be such a major feature, it should be in focus. Truth is, the actual subject is the man, but is relegated to the corner and his face, which is the most important area, is tiny in comparison to the whole.

Second, he is looking away from both the watermill and the viewer. It is difficult to shoot a good portrait of someone not looking at the camera, because it can look so staged. This just looks stiff, when such an angle should look candid and casual. To top it off, he seems to be uncomfortably squinting in the harsh light.

A much tighter shot, with the subject directly engaging the viewer would be much better. Think of the eyes first, because that's what people will see first.

I hope this helps a little.

Honestly, take advice from someone who tells you "there are just too many things wrong to make this a good portrait" with a grain of salt.

If everyone thought like him, photos in this world would be very boring to look at. Photography is an art and if you are happy with your end result, that is all the matters (unless you are professionally doing a shoot). I personally like the photo and I don't see anything "wrong" with it.

That being said, there are lots of things you could have done to make the portrait look different and interesting in other ways. Just realize that that each person has their own preferences.