First reaction: one of those "wise child" shots. The title only adds to that impression "As Life Goes By" - give me a break, children think nothing of the sort, he's probably killing his time looking at the water drops outside, or at the way the wind bends the trees, or some such. Grown-ups like to attribute wisdom to their kids, and I greatly dislike this tendency.
But it's not all bad. The reflection, obviously, is the photographic spice in this shot, so why is there so little of it, and why is it in the lower-left corner, which is the weakest place in the frame? The eyes are dead on the line going through the middle of the shot. If I imagine myself seeing this through the viewfinder, I instinctively move the camera left and down, to leave a lot less of the face, and a lot more of the reflection.
It looks like this is a candid shot, which is a big plus in my books.
Technically, the shot does not show excessive PS manipulations, another plus. A tad more contrast would be good, probably.
Overall, a shot with potential, but one that didn't happen. Definitely not your family album type of a child shot, which is already a good thing, though.
that's not fair. someone told you I was a sucker for window reflection shots! the worst thing about this shot is just that there are so many like it, but let's see what you do to stand out of the crowd:
-a tight crop that cuts off the top of his head and renders the stuff behind his head unrecognizable. good!
-lots of big mysterious shadows. My favorite shadow is the one all around his left eye. Interestingly, I only notice it in the reflection. Anything to break up the symmetry inherent to a shot like this! This reminds me of bucket in that the excess of darkness makes the light parts seem particularly ethereal and luminescent.
-the child and his reflection are both looking out of frame, which makes it seem like they're looking at the same place. When a reflected model is NOT looking out of frame, the reflection seems to be looking through the glass in our general direction, and the model seems to be looking away from us. The look out of frame leads our eyes out of frame, which adds a dynamism to the photo, and the fact that they're both looking out of frame makes it even more interesting. Ah, the mystery of what they're looking at! That plus the darkness gives this shot plenty of mystery, which is what you need when you are on the verge of having a "genre" shot.
-you managed to get a genuine yet understated expression from the child. Not always an easy thing!
In sum, good photo. I like it more the more I write about it. :)
I agree it could be a bti brighter with just a tad more contrast but this is a beautiful moment you captured. you may want to go in and add some contrast just to his reflection to bring it out since its so clear. Beautiful
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