What Ken Doesn't Know Won't Hurt Him!by
rwouthuisComment by srdanz: Richard, Greetings from the Critique Club!
First impression: This is a setup. You forced something in the challenge, and while it meets the challenge perfectly - it won't score high because of the lack of the wow! factor and perceived lack of a better idea...
Composition:Classical portrait pose (even though we talk about dolls), can't get much better. The lack of any props is not the lack here, as anything else would have only distracted from the message of the photo, so good job there.
Technicals:The strongest area of this photo by far. There are some visible artifacts of jpeg compression. Nothing you could do there, nor it is a deciding factor that affects the score. I usually give the photographer a benefit of doubt when such things occur. I understand the limitations of sRGB/640 pixels/150KB, and sometimes you just can't preserve the quality the original photo has.
Lighting is
really good. I assume no flash has been used, rather some kind of diffused light. Do you own a table tent for product photo-shoots or something like that? The softness of shadows indicates that you paid attention to lighting details.
To score higher than it did:Well, this one scored not unexpectedly in the middle because of the subject. What pulled it towards the top are the excellent technicals, and what weighed it down is the choice of the subject. Some people may have recognized the humour in it, and bumped their score accordingly. My experience with DPC is that humour rarely scores high, unless the challenge explicitly calls for one. (You may however rightfully argue that Odd Couple is calling for humorous photos:-) It is also sometimes necessary for the image to draw the attention of the observer, and this photo was lacking that appeal that would make me stay with it longer, and appreciate it better. You've probably received a ton of 4s, 5s, and 6s from the users that spent no longer than 10 seconds on your image. When people spend more time, either to comment or to appreciate the photo, they tend to vote higher.(or sometimes lower, but mostly higher).
Summary:Good photo, good technicals, slightly boring subject. Good luck in your future challenges, looking forward to seeing more of your excellent work.
I am trying to do my best giving an honest critique - if you have any questions on this critique or if you disagree please feel free to PM or email me.
Best regards,
-Serge
Photographer found comment helpful.