Shooting a soccer portrait for a friend

[kurnitb]

I'd like to have your feedback on it guys. Many thanks.

[Promature]

I think it would help the image if the background was less distracting.  I like the pose and what you were going for though.

[PeterJ]

Like the composition but agree with the above but only because I find the difference in contrast a bit high. I'm not a PS user but imagine it'd be a quick job to reduce exposure on the lights so they are still prominent enough to give a good context for the shot, but not take away from the central character so much.

[PavelR]

I think it would help the image if the background was less distracting.  I like the pose and what you were going for though.

+1

[Nishi Drew]

My eyes go to the lights first, to the face, then wander back to the lights.
I like the shot, the lights give the stadium feel, but they are quite bright

[crasher8]

I think a Man City jersey might work better with bright lights! jk

+1 on dimming the lights, nice effect tho

[pp77]

The symmetrical lights next to the head are somehow distracing and science-fiction like, IMHO. I agree with the other posts for the other two lights.

[rpt]

Try another with him crossing his hands across his chest and taken at a bit of an angle say 30 degrees from the current position and head turned to look straight at the camera. That will give a bit of a perspective view. You could vary the angle and see what works best. And the lights - like everybody has said. The facial expression is good.

[kurnitb]

Thank you all for all of your valuable thoughts and feedback, i really do appreciate them.

[dryanparker]

I think it would help the image if the background was less distracting.  I like the pose and what you were going for though.

+1

+1 as well! I dig the creative direction.

What I would try: have him put his hands on his hips in an aggressive position. I'd try to draw less attention to his chest. (No offense meant. Just trying to be constructive.) Also, lower the chin a bit so he's looking up slightly.

I think the lights on either side of his head distract because they're actually not strong enough! Maybe try ramping those up just a bit...just to see what happens.

As for processing: I like the edgy look in sports portraits. Try a slight desaturation, then run a high pass on a layer merge and set it to "soft light" blending mode. (This is a slick way to sharpen an image.)

Hope this helps!

[RustyTheGeek]

Try another with him crossing his hands across his chest and taken at a bit of an angle say 30 degrees from the current position and head turned to look straight at the camera. That will give a bit of a perspective view. You could vary the angle and see what works best. And the lights - like everybody has said. The facial expression is good.

+1.

It needs more dimension/angle.  Turn him.  Bob and weave yourself, go lower, go higher.  Also, try several poses and facial expressions/moods.  Some fun/playful, some mean/determined/tough, some clever, some smart-ass, etc.

You're off to a great start!