Now THAT's What I Call a Balanced Diet!by
GeneralEComment by Spanish_Grease: Greetings from the Critque Club!
This seems to be another case where marks were taken due to the fact the image appears to be more of a snapshot then purposefully composed photograph. The image lacks that something special that a viewer looks for.
The t-shirt background is one major cause of this problem. The logo on the t-shirt draws attention away from the subject of the picture - the ice cream cones. If you were determined to use a t-shirt background perhaps a flat color would have worked better, as it would provide a uncluttered background where the ice cream cones would have jumped out, providing clear subject-matter.
The lighting used in the photo is quite harsh, and does not light the ice cream cones in a pleasing way. You mention that you used flash to lighten the picture. Flash is a tricky tool to use, especially when lighting an image from directly in front. It gives them a very flat look, and can cast bad shadows directly behind the subject, distracting the viewer. I would have recommended shooting this outside using natural light. Or indoors with some good 3-point lighting. This would have ensured a good, solid form of lighting that gives an interesting 3 dimensional view of the cones.
Personally, I would have done the photo against a black background, with 3 point lighting set up to illuminate the cones and the hands, and nothing else. I would have also liked to see the cones closer together and a much closer crop. This may have given the photo that little thing that makes it special, and please the viewer.
Overall, I think your idea had merit. It was a bit of stretch to fit the challenge, but it did so in a humorous way. Knowing your work GeneralE, it seems like you were a bit rushed putting this together and couldn't put everything into it.
Good Luck!
Lee
Photographer found comment helpful.