Book Collectionby
shaverComment by CEJ: Hello from the Critique Club!
I have studied your image and have the following to offer:
Composition/perspective ΓΆ€“ I am immediately hit with the crop on this image. I find the black areas at the bottom and on the lower right corner to be distracting. A slightly different crop and you may have been able to achieve an overall larger image ΓΆ€“ closer to 640x640 which would have put a lot more emphasis on the collection itself. At this distance to the shot it almost just looks like a pile of books as opposed to a collection of books. The focus is good, all the edges are clean and a lot of the text is clear, even the smaller text. Not sure why you used the exposure combination you did for this shot. I think it gives it sort of a removed look or a strange feel. Placement of the books may have been adjusted some to bring out more of the natural contrasts in the cover colors. Or even angle of approach of the camera to alter the center of focus. As it is it seems I am drawn to the two large areas of red while glancing over the rest. I also find the crop on the top a bit of a distraction, just looks too busy along the top for some reason.
Color ΓΆ€“ a lot of nice colors in the shot. May be a little over saturated ΓΆ€“ the appearance of some of the text against the colors is not as crisp as it could be. Red dominates the shot leaving the green to get lost which could have given a nice contrast. The darker covers could have been placed a little differently to help with some of the smaller areas of color.
Lighting ΓΆ€“ seems a bit dark overall while the white just below center appears very bright. A bit of a distraction and in conflict with the rest of the image. Good control over reflection off the glossy covers though. Some of the shadows are a bit dark, but these areas (above) could be cropped out.
Challenge requirements ΓΆ€“ meets the challenge requirements as far as a collection goes. All the books appear on topic so there is no dispute there. May have lost some with the voters in this area though. Some may have seen it as not very creative. Tough call.
Overall/my opinion ΓΆ€“ not sure what it is with the image, but just does not seem to have that element that makes it stand out. The lighting seems to set an awkward mood for the scene that just appears in conflict with the subject matter.
Photographer found comment helpful.