Elkby
GallatinComment by e301: Hi from the Critique Club ...
Well, evidently people think of Macros as hyper-close-ups, and there is an argument that says it 'really' means images larger than actual life, but whatever ... you certainly fulfill the specifics of the challenge - it's just others' opinions of what counts that's cost you in the voting.
There's a 'rule' in portraits, even of animals, that the secret of taking good shots is to have the eyes in focus, and you haven't quite got that here: whether it's a slight movement from the animal, or a slight camera shake, or just slightly off focus I can't tell, though i'd guess one of the former two.
enough DOF to put the background nicely out of focus, though i think if you could have caught it against a darker surrrounding that would also have helped. The light is also a little flat - not bad, really, but I think a touch more definition and shape from more directional light would also have helped.
The final result is underservnigly low though: these faults aren't so great as the score would suggest to me; though likewise, it isn't an unimprovable photograph.
HTH
Ed
Photographer found comment helpful.
