Mattby
Cleon321Comment by strangeghost: GREETINGS FROM THE CRITIQUE CLUB
by strangeghost
COMPOSITION
A very effective composition, I think. I like the dramatic use of light and shadow, which combined with your choice of clothing and backdrop, creates a mysterious, moody, dark image. You were criticized a little in your comments for your crop, but I disagree. I think getting close to your subject was much more important, and you have done this well. If anything, I probably would have cropped away a bit of the negative space on the bottom, but not too much. I will quibble a bit about the elevation of the camera relative to your subject. While being a little above is almost always better than being too low, I wonder how this would have looked just a smidge lower?
TECHNIQUE
Your photographer's comment indicates you were experimenting with backdrops and lighting techniques, which gives me a great reference point for my own critique. I hope you're happy with your result. I think you've acheived a great mix of lights and darks, and I believe it makes for a perfect response to this particular challenge. The photo does have a bit of a soft focus on the periphery, which could have been intentional. I would have liked to have seen a much sharper focus throughout. It would have highlighted the stubble on his face, the detail in the neck chain, even the eyebrows and eyelashes. The dark eyes, BTW, are striking, and provide an outstanding focal point to the portrait.
OVERALL IMPACT
I think this is a splendid image. Overall, I imagine you were a little disappointed with your final score of 5.5. Some voters probably took off points due to the focus issue (which tends to be huge with the DPC crowd) and maybe also because of the large amount of negative space. I think you should be very happy with this effort in experimentation and I hope to see more of your work here.
It was a pleasure to study your photo in detail for this critique!
Message edited by author 2005-09-16 22:16:46. 
Photographer found comment helpful.
