The little devill inside you.by
svt_gEEkComment by Dr.Confuser: Greetings from the Critique Club. I have been assigned your photo to critique and here are my thoughts:
Personal Reaction: To honest, I’m not resonating with this photo very much. But the challenge was whimsical and your photo exhibited a nice sense of humor, so let’s not take ourselves too seriously.
Composition: Frequently a centered composition doesn’t work very well and can feel very static. In this case it seems to work pretty well, I think because the orange lifts the eyes and the horns lead my eye back around into the photo. You’ve got a nice dynamic triangle going with the beak and the horns. So although you have a risky composition, I like it. Well done!
Technicals: Your lighting is very good. It helps me feel the texture of the duck. Your post processing added to the feeling by removing some glare, good job. I see what you’re doing with the side light and I like the definition and dimensionality it gives the duck. I like the resulting black on black contrast. Focus is good. DoF is good.
Conclusions: I can really see this image as the background in a magazine ad, or as the accompanying graphic in an ad. In that respect, it wouldn’t compete with words laid over the top and could really grab a reader’s attention. So why didn’t it score better? Those who commented seemed to like it. In the end, I think the subject (which met the challenge well) just didn’t appeal to voters that much. It’s a minimalist photo, not that there’s anything wrong with that. Maybe they were expecting more, or expecting yellow ducks, or â€Â¦ well who knows.
You haven’t entered that many challenges, but in your portfolio I see some real talent behind your photos. Keep shooting and you’ll find your style. Your technical capabilities are evident. IMO you just need to concentrate on subject choice and try to show your audience the subject from a perspective that surprises, or teaches, or entertains them.
As always, this is my personal opinion. Feel free to PM me if you’d like further dialog.
Photographer found comment helpful.
