Youngest Buskerby
LadyLinComment by stephan: Hi Linda! Finally I get to critique your photo which was assigned to me by the Critique Club (maybe you read about that in the forum). So here it goes:
Composition: It seems you crouched to take the photo from a lower angle. I think that was a good decision because it puts the viewer on eye level with the girl instead of "looking down" on her. This creates a better relationship and makes the photo much more touching.
The background helps the viewer to understand where the photo was taken but I think it's also quite a bit distracting. There are are a lot of things going on and if I imagine if there was just a plain wall, I think this would put more focus on the girl as your subject. The lamppost however is somehow essential. The chains are good, because they lead the viewers eye to your subject.
I agree with Marsha that it would have been better when you didn't crop the violin case.
Lighting: The lighting conditions are just how they are these days... cloudy, no sun and altogether a bit drab. But this only increases the somewhat sad mood of the girl playing her violin. Exposure is good in my opinion.
Focus: F/2.8 already is a wide aperture but I think a wider aperture could have helped to narrow the DOF and blur the background even more. But I don't know if your camera supports that.
Art: You did a good job capturing a certain mood. It is an interesting photo where I personally ask what's the story behind it. So in my opinion you fulfilled the challenge topic.
