WHY I CHOSE THE PHOTO: Justin Trudeau vs Fans
Camera: Canon EOS 80D Lens: 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 Focal Length: 50mm Exposure: 1/125; f/6.3; ISO 250
Camera: Canon EOS 80D Lens: 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 Focal Length: 64mm Exposure: 1/160; f/10; ISO 250
PENTICTON B.C. — Justin Trudeau comes to Penticton B.C. for B.C. Day on Monday, Aug. 6, 2018. As he left the Gyro Park he shook hands with the crowd, and took selfies with them. (iNFOnews.ca/Shelby Thevenot)
I made the choice to use the “Fans” photo in my portfolio over the photo which very clearly shows the Prime Minister of Canada posing with admirers. To this day I wonder if it’s the best choice.
So, I decided to write a little blog post breaking down the considerations to take in when selecting a photo. For the sake of ease, let’s call the first photo “Fans” and lets call the second “JT.”
CONTEXT
My portfolio is meant to show the best of my work. It is not a news story about Justin Trudeau, in which case I would be better off to use JT.
Instead I chose the side of the story I am more interested in. The people who support him, voted for him, continue to give him praise.
Besides, being visible is a part of the Prime Minister’s job. He doesn’t have to pose in selfies with the public, but Justin Trudeau is known to do this. For my portfolio, I wanted to try and find something different. I wanted to find a photo that interested you and made you want to learn more. “Who are these people looking at?”
COMPOSITION
Even though the JT photo shows his face, his gaze is rather short in this frame. Meaning if he were situated on the other side of the half-way point it might be more interesting. As it is, his face is on the same side that he is looking. You do see the other people looking at him, but they are clearly not the subject of the photo.
In the Fans photo, there is a lot going on, and Justin Trudeau facing them kind of breaks the pattern in my opinion. The main focus is the man in the bottom centre, the luckiest one in the mob who is literally right there getting to meet the Prime Minister up close.
CONCLUSION
I chose the Fans photo for three key reasons: I find the people’s expressions to be more interesting than the public figure we have seen time and time again; compositionally it is better as the main subject’s gaze includes more of the frame; and the public figure facing backwards breaks the pattern, hopefully making readers want to know who everyone is looking at and enticing them to read the caption.
What do you think? Did I make the right choice?