A Trio of Looks
by timfythetoo

Comment:
You are so fired. How dare you include so much clutter in the frame? DPC has no place for you.

Clutter competes with the subject! But clutter also creates context. In this case, it adds a welcome sense of the mundane, the real. These looks, after all, are funnier in the kitchen than, for example, the white netherworld in which so many of idnic's portraits are taken. One can't help but think there's some story like Sandy's going on... and that is a possible way you can go further with this... have him interacting with food in some way or have the panels tell some other story like a comic strip.

You certainly do a good job of making his head "pop" with DOF. and even without a story I like the progression here. The middle face is such a great transition. Some kind of realization is going on that will naturally lead from one emotional state to another. And his expressions are remarkably genuine-looking, considering how extreme they are. You've got quite a little actor on your hands!

Sunset and Moonrise
by eac

Comment:
I love the way the red tones of sunset bring out the trunk of the tree. That's my favorite part of the picture and I like that the trunk and the moon take opposing sides around the center of the photo. I also like how green the dark area is, since it contrasts so well with the red. Nice muted tone for the sky. A very pleasant photo to look at. Nothing striking about it, but I could imagine using this and your intercoastal photo to help me meditate... :)

Sunset on the Intercoastal Highway
by eac

Comment:
My first reaction is... too brown for a landscape. I know it has a nice glow to it, but it's not quite "golden". I don't mind dirty, muddy tones, but there's no interesting composition here to redeem them. It might be more interesting if the water weren't exactly the same as the sky.

What I like about it is that it's a peaceful, sleepy picture.

Norman Bates Collection
by wingyisleeds

Comment:
Greetings from Critique Club

This got a 4 from me because, well, it's just a picture of knives. I probably should have given it a 5 because you did a competent job on it. I like how you don't show the base so the angle of the knives seems arbitrary. I like how dark the shadows are. I like that the wall is unfocused on the right, creates a dizzying effect. But all these efforts are in service to an uninspiring idea. The Norma Bates reference in your title seems an afterthought. Yes, the knives seem a little threatening, but in a sci-fi rather than spooky-motel sort of way. Also, they're just not threatening enough. And what's Norman going to do with those scissors?

This is a good example of how a good-looking shot that is weak on concept might not do well.

Cosmo close up
by eac

Comment:
David Bowie eyes... you have exaggerated the effect by putting so much emphasis on the eye of sky. the earth-eye is rotated half out of view. The result is disorienting in a Cubist-painting sort of way. I see two dogfaces, one for each eye, that don't quite match up. I like that effect.

But maybe that big hot spot on the top of his head is too much? It draws a lot of attention to itself. I realize that some of the detail is probably forever lost, but you can still make it less bright (maybe burn it), and brighten up the rest of the photo.

But even just as it is, I find this image compelling. A great abstract jumble of black and white shapes surrounding this one big glowing eye.

Watching you
by darasbulba

Comment:

Originally posted by boyd2000: Interesting photo divided in thirds, but I think you are missing the real meaning of "fule of thirds"

"fule of thirds"

I couldn't have said it better myself.

Cutting eggs
by hajeka

Comment:
greetings from Critique Club

First off, let's get some things out of the way. You know more than I do about getting a good score from DPC and taking a product shot. All I can do is give you my perspective on how I scored this.

Let's start with the score itself: 5. I know that doesn't sound great, but you should know that I hate straight product shots. They normally score in the 3- range for me. So, yours had some redeeming qualities, as follows:

-interesting angle. You are pointing down at the appliance. I expect the bottom part to recede along perspective lines much more than it does. I like being disoriented like that (you've also lined up the right side of the bottom piece so that I can't see it. nice touch). It creates a Surreal effect.

-triangular composition. Even though you have the standard dead-center, close-cropped composition of a product shot, the stray egg-piece and the shadow make for a triangular shape skewed within the rectangle of the photo. This adds interest and energy.

-crosshair effect. you make the blades look like crosshairs by positioning them over their "target", the egg. This is a nice allegorical touch, though it would make more sense (and have suspense) if the egg weren't already sliced.

-shading. you allow some nice shading on the product. usually product shots are too shiny.

[b]How to get a higher score from me[b]

*if you care* hahahaha

-a real background, not this fake whiteness
-a more worked-through or resonant allegory
-a better title to help the allegory

Patina
by adeldegan

Comment:
Greetings from Critique Club

Seems like dpc scored you a little low on this one. I gave you a 6, which means better than average. The composition is good, with the different positions of the spoons creating different but complementary shapes with their reflections. Also, the "X" they create makes for two strong diagonals, generally a good thing for adding energy to a composition. I found the crosshatch background quite pleasant.

I like the soft, low contrast, but dpc generally punishes that for no good reason besides a tiny attention span.

To have gotten higher than a 6 from me, the photo must move me in some way, or every part of it must contribute to the whole (your reflections, for example, don't detract but they don't add any thematic interest either), or it must be surprising, new, original.

trois enfants
by Mardukul

Comment:
what century did you kidnap these children from? adorable! and a great capture. I wish you hadn't sacrificed so much size for the frame. Not that it's a bad frame, but you can't spare that much real estate at this size. 8

The Two of Us
by Ivory

Comment:
great visual demonstration of love, one form wrapped around another. I also like the minimalism on the human form. 8