Fixing the Truck

This was just a grab shot on digital. Unfortunately, my film camera was not handy.

I think its good. The comp is right and pic is sharp. I imagine you had more of the truck in the original but cropped it out like this, which is good. I like how just the tire and slice of the front quarter is there. Not particularly a very intersting shot imo, but done nicely.

Believe it or not, the truck was not cropped at all. I did crop a sliver off of the bottom and left side. Someone's foot was in the way.

So what's missing? What would make this a great photo?

Looking at this, I think that maybe you're trying to do too much. I'm seeing two subjects, the mechanic and the activity. Neither one is shown particularly well. The exposure is fine but I'm not very interested in the scene itself. But I do think there is a ton of potential here. I think the mechanic is very interesting and I like the black and white tones. I'm thinking a closer portrait of just the mechanic might be very, very interesting. Similarly, a different angle that's more about the wheel changing might be better, too.

We all have a tendency to want to get too much into our photos. Usually that makes for dilluted, weak photos. When you're taking a picture, try to take a second to think about what it really is that's making you want to take a picture. Distill that down and simplify. Take out all the extra. Don't be afraid to get close. It's good to get close. Since we tend to want to include too much, it's good to swing the other way and leave too much out for a while. Then we'll swing back and get better.

Get it? Think about what's inspiring you to push the shutter realease. What is it that you really want to share? Get that and leave everything else. That's a challenge. I wanna see what you can do.

Do you know the mechanic? Can you go back and ask to take a portrait? I think that would be great. I'd really like to see it.

This isn't too bad... but it is not as interesting as it could be. Perhaps you should try a different angle. John does make good suggestions, however if you want to include both in the picture, try a different angle. Maybe shooting over the shoulder of the mechanic towards the wheel and then you can decide how much to include... the whole mechanic, just the hands... whatever you think works. Another angle might be from by the front bumper of the truck... get down and shoot under the bumper (don't get under the truck... be safe and all that) but you could get part of the tire and the mechanic. You'd get an interesting picture that also tells a story. *smile*