Simple Giftby
amsmythComment: Hello from the Critique Club
Anne, hi, guess who got your picture :))
First thing I'd like to say is that I absolutely love seashells. This one is very beautiful, with the shiny parts and the hole to the left, and the little things on it at the right and top (don't know what they're called). It also has a beautiful shape.
That said, you probably know by now that this is not the best ever seashell picture that you'll take :)) It looks like you placed it on a dark background? The background looks almost like leather, but I can't tell very well. There are a couple sand grains at the front. The light is very direct, looks straight on, and it bleaches out the shell. Like a number of the commenters below, it might have worked better to use a more diffused or indirect light source, maybe from the side, maybe using a white cardboard as a reflector to the other side, something like that.
As a composition, the picture also is not quite there. It is a shell placed in the middle of the picture, but there isn't really much in the picture that will hold the attention of the viewer, or want her/him to come back and look at the picture some more. Possibly photographing the shell in context, i.e. on the sand, close to water, or maybe not placed quite so in the middle of the picture. I'm not sure.
I'm also wondering about the colours. They actually are beautiful, the light browns and pinks on the top part of the shell, the dark, dark gray background, the whites. Yet, as a composition, since it is rather minimal, a b/w treatment might have worked here. Again, I'm not sure, but it is something to try.
I must say you picked a difficult subject for this challenge. It fits it well (the challenge). It's a really interesting project, to try and figure out how you could take the most beautiful shell picture you can, one that people will say, "Wow! Now that's a shell!". Oh well. Just dreaming :)))
Keep going, Anne, take care of yourself.
Ursula
Photographer found comment helpful.
