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This photo was taken in Akihabara, Tokyo.
The man in the foreground is large and looking at his mobile device again.
In the back is a woman walking face down, and from the relationship between the two I thought of a story in which the man in the foreground is holding a mobile device and monitoring her.
At the same time, the title came to me from the content of the novel 1984, so I set this title.
To emphasise the story, I made the shadows extending from the position of the man's glasses easier to see. I also made adjustments to the overall contrast to make the two people more recognisable.
Personally, I think the photo makes sense, but it was not selected at 100% Technical Quality.
What further adjustments should I have made?
This is an original photo.
Maki,
Thanks for submitting this.
Here are some suggestions for you to consider. Whether or not to implement is a personal decision on your part.
Glancing at the original photo I agree that cropping is needed but it may be too tight on both the left and right sides. I feel it needs more "breathing room".
I like high contrast but I feel much of this is too dark. Using the levels tool in Photoshop if you move the midtones slider to 1.28 or so it brightens it up a bit in the essentional parts without sacrificing the contrasts.
I see the man is in soft focus and the woman is in sharp focus. Since the title implies "big brother" is the subject perhaps those two focus points should be reversed.
As to the story you are trying to tell without your narrative I see nothing in the photo to indicate the man is spying on the woman. It's almost impossible today to photograph someone on the street that isn't looking at their phone. Perphaps if he was aiming the phone at her as in taking a video the desired concept maybe shown but as composed I'm just not seeing it.
I hope this gives you something to consider.
Best wishes,
Mike S. - Senior Critic
Mike,
Thank you for your advise
I had trimmed the left and right sides to the limit to create the oppressive feeling of being watched
Also, you said it doesn't look like it is being watched at all.
It is only the "Big Brother" in novel "Nineteen Eighty-Four" is the supreme leader and symbolic figure in Oceania.
(He is considered to be a created being only.)
I believe that this surveillance by Big Brother also includes human surveillance, where the man in the foreground is watching the woman in the background, while the man is also being watched.
Either way, if the message is not conveyed, it is completely meaningless, so i believe there is
much room for reconsideration of the title.
