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Open for Critique...

20:45 10/06/09

Jonathan Koifman said: Ladies, Gentlemen, Friends and Intrigued,

As a budding photographer, I only have those closest me critiquing my work, and I have to say, while all very nice, I'm never sure if it's only because these are my loved ones, or if I am truly producing something of visual value.

So, in an effort to maybe impress some people, and hopefully garner some constructive criticism, I offer my work, from Flickr, parsed into collections:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jonathank/collections/72157614786732943/


Enjoy! I am looking forward to your comments ^_^


-JK

1 remark. Add yours. Latest remark.

1. Sep 5th, 2009
11:13

#
Anna Psaroudaki hi jonathan!

how many years have you been shooting? there's definitely clarity in your work - it seems your technical skills are very good - , although i do get a feeling that i'd like to see you break away from such tight structures in synthesis. a good idea is to try and shoot with out thinking at all, and in order to help you with this, time your self, so say, if you ordinarily take 5 seconds to think about a shot, take 1 second instead...your sense of colour is very good, as is your sense of light. also, i think you need to try and perhaps simplify your subjects, try and take away elements, rather than cramping many things in. also, give space, and let things breathe a little. choose your stories. - eg, there's a shot in the museum with two people sketching, think about your angles, and the relationship of the two people, and who's story you want to portray. think about what makes that image unique to you. the key about portraiture is the absolute fine unique detail to each person that you must capture. and for this, you need to get close up and personal, rather then being a generalist. otherwise, you would be talking about a choreography, which is also fine - weegee and cartier- bresson were great at crowd photography - but you are doing neither. so i'm looking at this photo, and i see the obvious, but i don't see what YOU saw, and that's what i want to see.

i'm 33, and i've been shooting for over 15 years, and i'm learning new things every day. my grandparents were photographers, and so is my uncle, and i still don't have all the answers. all i can tell you is that i question things everyday.

i tend to use my body and synchronize with my subjects. i've learned to let go of academic "musts" - although it's always interesting to know the rules before breaking them, and to rely on my gut feeling and on the energy exchange that goes on between myself and whomever i'm shooting.

don't have anything up at the mo', but once i do, i'll let you know.

hope this sheds some light, keep up the good work!

anna