My favorite photo

I have had this photo hanging in my room since I graduated from high school. It’s a shot of (from left to right) my friend Jason (19), myself (18), and my twin cousins Richard and Ronald (both 21). This was taken by Jason’s mother at my graduation party. We had just finished a water-balloon fight and were about to play touch football. It’s interesting for several reasons. First in my mind being my Ohio State t-shirt. I had been accepted to the school, and given a scholarship. Years later, plans have changed and I’m not there anymore.

To critique this image a little, I would say that it could have been an even better memory if it was an image of the actual water-balloon fight or the football game that was about to happen. Posed snapshots like these are nice, but not nearly as powerful as a true candid image. Sticking with this pose, I wish that the photographer wouldn’t have turned the camera vertically. Leaving it horizontal would have made it easier to fit us all in the frame, without awkwardly cropping off Jason’s arm or Ronald’s elbow. It would also help with the huge negative space above our heads. Seeing that we are all about the same height, there really isn’t a reason for the negative space in the image. As far as critiquing the background selection, I actually prefer the background in the image compared to other options like brick walls, parked cars, etc. A different aperture choice would have burred the background a little more, resulting in a more pleasing composition (I know this camera likely didn't have the choice of aperture, or the photographer likely didn't know how to select it). Finally, the camera height is just about right. It might be a little bit lower than our eye level, but almost imperceptibly so. (No wonder, the photographer is about a foot shorter than we are.) It results in an ever-so-slightly dominant feeling coming from the subjects. Two of us had just graduated high school. We were on top of the world. (At least for the day.)