Like Father Like Daughter
by ingib

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club...

Hi ingib :)

This is a cute photo and it probably got a few points in the vote for that, but based on the overall score it received, it did not do particularly well overall. Photos of people require something extra special when trying to achieve public accolades. There is nothing in this photo that really draws an outsider into the image. As a viewer, I can't find any particular connection with these people, so I can't really get into the image for more than what it is. This image is technically nice but maybe a half stop or so underexposed.. nice work :)

Forbidden Love
by ericpi

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club...

Hi ericpi :)

This photo scored rather well in the challenge. I think you did a decent job of creating and executing a complete idea. Being able to formulate and execute a cohesive idea isn't always easy. Compositionally, this photo could probably use some help. It may have been more appropriate to include the full cans rather than cutting them off at the bottom. I can't really offer you much more critique on this one. You could have gone really overboard with this idea by cutting out a couple cans, flattening them out, and creating the male/female figures with the logos visible to add some real personality to the love affair that you are portraying in the image :)

John Setzler

Their Dream Home
by Coley

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club...

Hi Coley :)

This photo scored rather well and doesn't require much of a critique, if any. Well done technique shots always do well on DPC. I can't really offer you much in the realm of improvement.

John Setzler

The Corral
by puma

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club...

Hi Puma :)

If you request a critique from the critique club, you should always fill out your 'Photographer's Comments' field when you submit your photo. When you don't include your own thoughts on the image, you can't really expect someone else to give their time and effort to give you a critique. It makes me think that you don't care enough about your own photo to take the time to post your thoughts on it...

This photo meets the challenge but I still fail to find something particularly special about it to make it stand out. It looks like the sun may have been too bright to create an image with a little less contrast. I more confined view of your subject may have also created less clutter in the background...

Why Can't I Be You?
by melismatica

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club...

This photo didn't score very well for several reasons. First of all, I am not completely sure the subject and technique lend themselves well to the duotone theme. The toning choices you chose don't seem to add to the subject or the mood of the photo. The second issue is that it's a character portrait that very few people will find a connection with. Any photo of a person posted for public consumption needs some element of universal understanding, either in the subject itself or in the presentation of that subject. The high contrast portion of your composition is nice, but I don't care much for the motion blur from the long exposure. I will say that the motion blur may be adding an extra sense of tension in the image, but it's just not my favorite way to present things.

Haute Couture
by dkallman

Comment:
Critique Template:

Greetings from the Critique Club...

My critiques consist of commentary on specific elements of photographs that I look for in other images, as well as my own. All of these items will not apply to every photograph, and I will indicate that if it applies to yours.

Your Score

You score is a good bit below 'average' in this challenge. I can't say that it deserves more than it received overall...

Meeting the Challenge

I don't think the photo meets the challenge very well. This photo doesn't seem to be 'highlighting' anything more than the face of the subject. The hair definitely isn't making any fashion statement. The comment about the finger in the electrical outlet that you didn't check as helpful may be more helpful here than you think :)

Subject Choice

Your sister is a pretty girl, but I still don't think this photo features any particular fashion.

Emotive value / Emotional Impact

This photo may have more emotive value to you since the subject is your sister, but that doesn't transcend the family ties very far.

Composition

The composition is quite static and the hair makes this photo seem quite cluttered and unrefined.

Technicals

The light is unflattering and doesn't create any mood in the image. There is a lot of detail loss in the hair and dress that may be from the post processing, but hard to tell.

Creativity

Creatively, this could be a good first step in pursuing fashion photography. You have to start somewhere, and I think your idea here is worthwhile but it needs a lot of refinement.

Additional Notes

Don't give up :)

Childhood Champion
by freakin_hilarious

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club...

My critiques consist of commentary on specific elements of photographs that I look for in other images, as well as my own. All of these items will not apply to every photograph, and I will indicate that if it applies to yours.

Your Score

I think that 5.2 may be about right for this photo. I gave it a 4 when I voted

Meeting the Challenge

The photo meets the challenge. I don't believe the subject choice lends itself well to the challenge theme though.

Subject Choice

The subject choice here doesn't inspire me much. It doesn't have any artistic value to me.

Emotive value / Emotional Impact

Zero.

Composition

The composition seems fine. The curve/lead in element of the string is actually nice.

Technicals

Lighting a reflective surface is difficult. You need a rather large diffused light source to eliminated the hot spots you have in this photo.

Creativity

I wouldn't rate this very high on a creativity scale.

Additional Notes

Doing well in a challenge goes way beyond just meeting the challenge. You need to produce images that have some level of emotive value and creativity to go along with the challenge topic.

lost in thought...
by IreneM

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club...

Hi IreneM :)

I think this is an excellent character portrait of your husband. The mood you were trying to convey came out nicely, especially in the duotone. The tones you chose work very nicely in this image. It seems like all of your comments are rather positive, but the image didn't score much above average, and I think I can probably tell you why, to some degree. Portraits of any kind have a very difficult time connecting with viewers who aren't associated in some way with the subject. I don't 'know' your husband, so it does make it difficult for me to really connect with the portrait. As a disconnected viewer, I need something very special in the portrait that jumps out and grabs me in order for me to make a connection that moves me with strong emotion.

I think your composition and technicals here are excellent and woudln't change anything about them...

Nice work :)

John Setzler

A Walk in Blue
by LedZeppelin588

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club...

My critiques consist of commentary on specific elements of photographs that I look for in other images, as well as my own. All of these items will not apply to every photograph, and I will indicate that if it applies to yours.

Your Score

This photo scored rather poorly in the challenge. In my opinion, there is simply nothing of interest in the image. The mood you may have been trying to convey just didn't come through due to the lack of interest in the subject.

Meeting the Challenge

The image meets the challenge but doesn't go much beyond that.

Subject Choice

I believe the subject choice here is very weak. As I stated above, there is nothing of particular interest to look at in the scene.

Emotive value / Emotional Impact

This photo doesn't score any points from me in this area either.

Composition

I don't believe the composition of this photo matters. In a perfect world, the lamp post would not be positioned as close to the center as it is, but it doesn't really matter here. Not many people will get past the lack of subject to even evaluate the composition.

Technicals

I don't think there is anything wrong with this image technically.

Creativity

There may be some element of creativity in this image if you are a beginning photographer. Working a long exposure on a tripod is a good learning tool.

Additional Notes

Spend some more time thinking about how a viewer will perceive your photo before you post :)

Mirror, Mirror
by clickaway

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club...

My critiques consist of commentary on specific elements of photographs that I look for in

other images, as well as my own. All of these items will not apply to every photograph,

and I will indicate that if it applies to yours.

Your Score

Your score indicates that most viewers liked this image fairly well. I didn't like it as well myself. I gave it a 4, which is a little below average during the voting. I didn't believe the image made a strong statement in the realm of fashion photography.

Meeting the Challenge

The photo meets the challenge, but as I stated before, I don't believe it meets it with strength. I believe that fashion photography should strongly highlight whatever fashion product it is that you are trying to sell. This side profile of your subject doesn't do a great job of highlighting her clothing and accessories. A frontal view would have done a better job of this.

Subject Choice

I think your subject choice is excellent. I already mentioned that a different perspective would have probably made it a stronger image.

Emotive value / Emotional Impact

I think the emotive value of this photo is about average. The subject isn't 'emoting' though, so I don't know how much this really applies to this particular photo. Fashion photography with a human model generally has a high level of emotive power, which helps sell the product being shown.

Composition

The composition in this image may be slightly below average. I don't care for the placement of the subject in the frame. She's moving from right to left and centered in the frame. Positioning her slightly to the right would give more comfort space in the movement. She would have more 'room' to move. Subject movement should always be considered in the composition.

Technicals

I don't have much to offer you on technicals in this image. I believe that 'fashion' is a very poor subject for basic editing rules. There is practically NO fashion photography in magazines and catalogs that would adhere to our childish basic editing rules here at DPChallenge. I would have cleaned up some of the clutter in the image, especially the piece of loose paper hiding in the background reflection.

Creativity

Your creativity would score highly with me on this photo. I like the concept of the reflection. I believe you found an excellent location to shoot where an environmental element would add impact to your photo.

Additional Notes

To me, this image appears to be a simple candid catch. I wouldn't consider fashion or product photos to fall within the realm of candid photography. I'm sure there are instances where this could work, but I believe that photographer/subject cooperation is practically a requirement for excellence in this arena.

John Setzler