Death & Lifeby
KatheComment by dahkota: Greetings from the Critique Club!
Typically, this is not my preference for image styles. Not a problem with the image at all - just a personal choice. Just wanted to let you know that so you don't wonder why I do not critique this on subject matter.
When capturing an image, there are some important things to pay attention to:
Composition, lighting, tonal balance, focus, depth of field, point of view.
Composition: For the subject, this composition works. The placement of the various elements allows the eye to wander around the photograph. I would argue that it is cropped too tightly, that the subject does not have breathing room, but different people prefer different spaces so its a personal choice.
Lighting: The lighting works for the subject, providing enough shadow to give depth but not enough to be distracting.
Tonal Balance: The image seems to be off - too far into the reds/magentas, to allow the veiwer to be comfortable. The blacks are black but the whites aren't white - they're pink. This only throws one off as everything else has the same pink tint. It would be easily fixed by rebalancing the whites away from the reds.
Focus: The focus here is soft. I've looked through the entire image and I can't find any part in sharp focus so I am going to assume it is camera shake that cause it. At 1/13 of a second, this is a distinct possibility. If you were going for soft focus effect, one of the better ways to achieve that is the make the image more out of focus and choose softer lighting conditions. The lighting here is a bit to harsh for soft focus.
Depth of Field: The depth of field here seems on target for the subject. You have a nice blurring at the bottom left edge of the image. I would argue that maybe even a shorter DOF would also work. Seeing that you took this at 3.2, I'm not sure you would have been able to achieve this.
Point of view: I think POV works for this image. You've angled the shot slightly, not taking it head on, adding depth to the image.
With regards to the challenge: This image scored around the middle of the challenge. Not too bad considering. To redo the shot? Your choice. But what may have scored better, solely in my opinion? DPC voting favors simplicity. The added greenery and baby's breath, while looking nice, is not integral to the image. The two roses, by themselves would be a much more powerful image. DPC voters love black backgrounds. The purple background used has good texture in my opinion but the votes probably would have been higher with a flat background (prefereably black). Not saying this is a better way to create your image, only providing information on how to score higher with DPC voters.
Hope the critique provided is helpful. If you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to PM me.
Photographer found comment helpful.