Originally posted by Peter Zack This "distracting" comment pops up a bit too often IMO. The dumpster adds to the mood so do the lights, which shows the source of the shadows. Distracting is a tree directly behind the subject's head, Lens flare over a face, dust spots in the sky, etc. Too many comments this way, want these sterilized images that have had too much cropping and cloning. Not real life which isn't neat and tidy.
The dumpster tells a story and puts context to the image. He's in an alley, most likely behind a bar, after a night of playing or on a break between sets. Remove the right side and you have a guy with a guitar leaning against a wall, no story.,
I think people get confused between having a solid point of interest and making that point of interest the only point in the scene, which a lot of times is too simplistic, and like you said, can look unnatural. Personally, I tend to like a photo with some "clutter" in it, because the tension that is created between the clutter and the more interesting part of the photo makes the photo more interesting as a whole.
Twilight, instead of cropping, you could try some selective dodging and burning to bring out different parts of the photo. I'm thinking if you could darken the bright part of the dumpster just slightly it might make it less distracting while still allowing it to maintain its presence in the photo. On the other hand, I kind of like it the way it is