Need help choosing a photo.

[Tico]

Didn't vote.
Don't like either.

How bout just a simple and frank photo of you, your guitar, nix the cigarette and faux attitude?

Work withsome good photographers who can really see and capture you.

[flaggerphil]

The B&W is better but the cig ruins the whole thing.

IMHO.

[jpd]

Originally Posted by RP

No, it's me too. As an anti-smoker I think that the cigarette really detracts from the photo. Photo Shop the cigarette out, and then ask again...

+1.........

[tinnitus]

If you absolutely HAVE to have a cigarette, then light the whole thing, not just one side. Then go B&W and boost the contrast.

On a more personal level, at 65, I look back at younger pics of me trying to look grown up, surly, to be taken seriously, etc. The moody scowls and cigarettes in those photos make we wish I had quit smoking and started smiling a lot sooner than I did (about 30 years ago).

[LeDave]

You guys are right. I'll try again with no smoke when I see my bro in law for another shot. Do you suggest I smile or no smile? I'll eventually do both anyway. Any new or other ideas?

[Silly Moustache]

When I was a photographer, I quit color and did only black and white especially for portraits.

People "passively" receive colour images, but with mono, they, usually unconciously, become more actively involved. We see in colour, so we "fill in the detail" thus the involvement.

Were I the photographer, I do what Yousef Karsh did to Winstin Churchil, and grab the smoke out of your mouth.

Smoking is somewhat "outre" now isn't it?

Further, viewers will feel that they'd smell that nicotine .. eugh!

[Silly Moustache]

Originally Posted by LeDave

You guys are right. I'll try again with no smoke when I see my bro in law for another shot. Do you suggest I smile or no smile? I'll eventually do both anyway. Any new or other ideas?

Well it isn't my image, but if I was the art director, I'd reposition the end of the headstock over you right eye, moving the guitar down a little and crop out the distracting whatever above the nut - looks like duct tape or ?

You can retain you "bad boy" attitude without the stinky cigs, but maybe you are too young not to smoke?

[LeDave]

Originally Posted by Silly Moustache

Well it isn't my image, but if I was the art director, I'd reposition the end of the headstock over you right eye, moving the guitar down a little and crop out the distracting whatever above the nut - looks like duct tape or ?

You can retain you "bad boy" attitude without the stinky cigs, but maybe you are too young not to smoke?

Thanks. It's not duct tape. Just the light being fractured from hitting the awkward curve of the neck meeting the headstock.

I'm 30. Been smoking since 19.

[RP]

Serious question - what do you want the photo to say about you???

[LeDave]

Originally Posted by RP

Serious question - what do you want the photo to say about you???

That I'm a guitar player, although not good yet, I am serious and eager to learn. I also like Fender and it's my only guitar and is my baby.

[12barBill]

I like your inquisitiveness and your honesty. I would like to see a photo with the top of the guitar headstock at chin level and your entire face visible; color or black and white photo is up to you; and cigarette is not needed.

[jpd]

Originally Posted by LeDave

You guys are right. I'll try again with no smoke when I see my bro in law for another shot. Do you suggest I smile or no smile? I'll eventually do both anyway. Any new or other ideas?

No smile...just a *smirk*

[Nama Ensou]

Try several different approaches next time around, especially getting the headstock off to the side so that it feels less like an advertisement for the company.

[Tico]

Originally Posted by LeDave

You guys are right. I'll try again with no smoke when I see my bro in law for another shot. Do you suggest I smile or no smile? I'll eventually do both anyway. Any new or other ideas?

Wait 10 or 20 years, maybe 30.
Get real life experience.
It shows on one's face.
Find, and pay, a good professional photographer.
You get what you pay for is not guaranteed but more likely than getting pro results from a free friend.

Substance over image, instead of the other way around.

But wait, have you seen the current AGF age poll?
I doubt you really want a pic that appeals to us 70 year olds.

AGE.jpg

[RP]

Originally Posted by LeDave

That I'm a guitar player, although not good yet, I am serious and eager to learn. I also like Fender and it's my only guitar and is my baby.

The composition of the photo should emphasize your "message" about yourself and not steer away from it. I've done a bunch of photography in my time and have had more than a few things published. To me, your photo has three elements that grab the viewers' attention. Looking past the cigarette, the other two are the guitar's headstock and the subject's face. By covering one of the subject's eyes, I think it makes a statement that he sees the world, at least partially, through the guitar. I don't think that addresses the skill level of the subject as much as it addresses the notion that the guitar is key to his perception of the world. That's neither good nor bad; it's just my interpretation. Minus the cigarette, I really like the composition. Obviously the b&w version is more austere, and I think it makes a louder statement about the "oneness" between subject and guitar. Color adds somewhat different dimensions, but I'd say that it serves to diffuse that "oneness" but it's also more viewer friendly because most of us see the world in color and are more comfortable seeing the world in color. By the same token, there's a certain uneasiness about the b&w because it is a world that most of us are not accustomed to. That's not a bad thing; in fact if you look at some of the iconic b&w photos, you'll find that they also grab the viewer and often create that uneasiness. I think that a photo that evokes emotion in the viewer is a powerful photo. I can think of several Viet Nam and Civil Rights era photos that illustrate this point, but they wouldn't be AGF-appropriate. Just some random thoughts - take them for what they're worth....