Fun Houseby
TransitComment by Pedro: ok, well first of all Mike - 34/557 and a 6.55 score is nothing to be unhappy about. I'm always satisfied anytime i score over a 6.5, since over 90% of the photos in any contest won't score that high. Reading the comments I'd say voters agree, since every one of the 18 comments is positive.
what's stopping it from winning a ribbon? tough to say. DP is a tough crowd to satisfy - you have to be unique enough to stand out, but still appeal to the masses enough that you don't alienate some of them. One of my favourite ribbon shots (Disturbed - the fishing line one) ended up with 13 votes of 3 or lower, but 75 favourites - go figure.
conceptually, you've got a great idea here. using the mirror and the black cloth gives it a surreal funhouse quality, that you were obviously trying for. Ideas like this that are a little less conventional won't fly with everyone - taste vary a ton on the site 0 but your voting pattern is pretty standard, and you only had 3 votes under 3...that's pretty good.
Technically I'd say your lighting is spot on, and it's tack sharp - critical if you want high scores here. her skin looks unnaturally smooth - i'm guessing neat image or noise ninja - that tends to bother some people, but I can see why you'd do it with a surreal image like this. that would require more than 5 seconds of thinking though, so it may be lost on some ;)
I'll tell you what throws me a little in this one - just an opinion...not saying i'm right or anything. having your daughter wear a black sweater on a black backdrop is a little disorienting; it looks as though her heads are floating...and while i'm sure that's what you were going for, it leaves the image without an anchor. i usually feel the same way about all white backdrops where the backdrop and floor disappear entirely...you start to wonder whether they're floating or not. having her in something a bit lighter could anchor her in the photo, but still maintain the funhouse effect.
all said i think it's a well done image, and the score is nothing to sneeze at. Keep playing along these lines and you'll start hitting on ones that grab more voters than they miss, and the 6.5s will turn into 7s.
You've obviously got the skills - your last 10 entries have all score over a 6. About your portraits in general, the only thing i might suggest is being a little more decisive about your crops. I think a portrait either needs to show context or not - so either really tight, or loose enough to show some environment. the ones that fall in between aren't quite tight enough to really connect you to the subject OR the environment.
Not sure if that makes sense or not - i tend to stop making sense after 2am. hope it helps a little, either way.
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