t r a i tby
rooumComment by posthumous: Jesus wants me to critique your photo.
After not playing critique club for YEARS, something compels me to press the button ...
and your picture appears ... beams down .... the picture only becomes more sublime each time I look at it. The fuzziness of the photo is because *I* am not good enough to see it.
There's an important point to be made here. The picture is only pixels ... and what it evokes in a reader. A perfectly focused picture that hides nothing also leaves nothing for the reader. It might as well be a Stop sign. All the reader does is STOP. To make a reader THINK takes something more... or rather, less.
Now I could go back and change all the "reader"s to "viewer"s, but you'll catch my drift.
The deep red in the background and the ivory quality of the flesh do indeed evoke Jesus... not the man, but the icon. The man is hiding, as you so aptly demonstrate with OOF and framing. I like this picture better every time I look at it, because it's getting farther and farther away, and I imagine I'm seeing something that's getting closer and closer to you.
oh wait, you asked for a Critique Club Critique. I'm poorly qualified, but I'll give it a go:
Dear Clive,
In a portrait, we expect to see a face. The less face it has, the less portraity it is. That could explain some of those low scores. Also, the face seems a bit out of focus. I wonder if this is a self-portrait. Perhaps you couldn't see through the lens as you were taking the picture. That would explain a lot. Next time, I would suggest having someone sit in the chair first, so you can focus on that person. But here's the important part: that person must get up and you must sit in the SAME CHAIR. Also, be sure to pick someone who isn't significantly taller or shorter than you are.
Ok, there you go! Your scores will be skyrocketing in no time!
Photographer found comment helpful.
