[NT73]

   

Lady in a London Square.

Modified and reworked.
   

[EnglishBob]

Love just about everything about the image, but as you posted in critique, the chopped off flags at the top of the image bother me. I would try cropping to the base of the chimneys, unless you have a little more flag. Just my opinion, worth exactly what you paid for it!

Love the image, did you have to wait for her to get to that position, or was it just happy coincidence?

[NT73]

Happy coincidence, although that was the shutter press moment. (I knew she was there.) I liked the layout of the square, with the paving. I have cropped from a larger shot to remove two people on the right, who I thought spoiled the composition. The roof line is the top of the original and bothered me too. I could clone out the flags altogether. It looks a bit boring without the skyline, if I crop below the chimneys.

[EnglishBob]

Cloning would do the job perfectly and leave all that nice texture in the tile roof.

[NT73]

Modified to suggestion. See top.

[Don Schaeffer]

Perhaps less paving in the foreground replaced with more sky and the tops of the flags.

[pinmollusc]

Your photo grabbed my attention immediately, and I was wondering and wondering about critiquing this wonderful photograph.

I loved the framing of the shot with two large buildings, and your attempt to maintain the symmetry.And placing the lady according to the rule of thirds is remarkable too, given the fact that she was moving an all that.I love the situation, and the setting of the photo.

However I find it quite disturbing to notice the dark hair of the lady and the dark background of an entrance, in the front building, struggling to gain prominence.Had the background been lighter, the contrast between lady's dark hair and the light background would be interesting to the viewer.However I can understand there's nothing you could have done about it.

I agree with the comments about the flag posts.The cropped version looks better. However I still find the image is tilted slightly at an angle, so that the horizontal line of the roof top is bit uncomfortable to the eye.I'd have rotated it anti-clock-wisely to avoid that.

If you don't mind a bit of manipulation try converting the image to black and white, but keep the lady in red.

[NT73]

The horizontal lines of the building are level. I also feel a tilt, but it must be an optical illusion or a perspective problem. Possibly due to the paving lines or me not being in the centre (between the buildings)

[Pavel]

The horizontal lines of the building are level. I also feel a tilt, but it must be an optical illusion or a perspective problem. Possibly due to the paving lines or me not being in the centre (between the buildings)

The horizontal lines are level and so are the right verticals. The problem is on the left. Lean slightly counterclockwise and expand the top. That should fix it nicely

[matthew]

(…and there's just a touch of 'wave' optical distortion.)

[NT73]

I tried using skew and similar, but the more you change things the worse the photo gets.
Most of the problem is caused originally by barrel distortion on the LX5. Some of the right hand side and a bit of the bottom was cropped.

I don't mind the critique though.

Matthew .. the wave distortion may be the uneven floor of the square. Or cos it's near the river.

The original is hand held but steadied on a traffic bollard. That is the reason I wasn't central to the square. (The bollards were in the wrong place. ) I will have a word with the powers that be. .

[jericho]

Great use of lines and symmetry. My one critique, and its not easily fixable, are all the other people. I know that is not feasible in a location like that, but it really is what separates it from being a REALLY good photo. Just my .02 cents.

[NT73]

The horizontal lines are level and so are the right verticals. The problem is on the left. Lean slightly counterclockwise and expand the top. That should fix it nicely

True, but without tools I don't have, it is very tricky.
I got a vertical on the front edge of the white building on the left (the lower half protrudes more than the upperhalf)
Then the drainpipe slopes in (Perspective) as does the far left vertical.
When I attempt dragging it to the left, then the front edge of the white building starts going left. I could try selecting part of the pic and then skewing I suppose.

I will tell you this Pavel, and I am not being facetious now ....... When I move to the left of the pic it looks worse. If I move to the right and look back at it, it improves greatly and the optical illusion disappears. Visually anyway.

[vlad]

Nice balanced shot. It's nice that you managed to tame the Panasonics distortion.

[kNox]

The photo is okay, but it's one of the rare cases where I would mess around with it in post-processing. I'd find a way to shift the attention towards the lady in red, maybe create more contrast between her and her background. Other than that, great shot!

[jinko]

Too much empty space, the lady in red should dominate the scene more. Also other people are distracting. Sure , I understand it's not always possible if you just snap a picture in a crowded place of passerby but this is critique you wanted.

[NT73]

Thanks for the comments.

Comments taken on board. Originally it was just the lines of the square, that caught my eye. The title followed.
The lady just happened to walk across. Shortly followed by coachloads of people.

And I was sightseeing too.


It could be redone at a cost, being over two hundred miles from home.