Tribute to Sonifo's "Body Art"by
timfythetooComment by Pedro: it's not that easy...being greeeeenn (one of my little guy's favourite songs :))
ok - so from a topical standpoint, you'll get punished for a few reasons: first off, toys, stuffed animals, woodies, etc all tend to get hammered by virtue of their very being. hard to differentiate those from a poor opinion of the photo. Secondly (specific to this challenge) a lot of people went WAY out of their comfort zone to enter themselves or a loved one naked, and will take this as an insult to their serious effort. that should affect their score, but it will. Lastly, a 'tribute' in all senses of the word, should seek to improve upon or show respect to the original, and with an original as good as Soni's - you've got some stiff competition.
Technically speaking it has strength. The setup/composition is good so it has a nice flow. Technically speaking I notice a few little things that could be improved upon (i'm nowhere near perfect, but I have been working hard on improving my studio stuff in the last few months, so these are the things I'd criticize my own work for).
The first thing I notice is that it's a bit overexposed...the whites are a bit blown out near the bottom of the image. when I'm shooting on a white backdrop I tend to light slightly from above, and I try to get more light on the back than the ground (particularly when it's white on white like this one). it gives a sense of surrounding and provides a base for the image; kermit almost looks like he's levitating. Ideally you will have a little contrast on the ground, even if it's just a wee shadow around the base of the object and below the feet. A simple little cheat on a BW image is to use a *slightly* off white pedistal in this case - 5% grey maybe, which will look like shadow.
Second thing i see is either a slight blur that has been sharpened to compensate, or compression artifacts that show up as blur. I'm guessing it may be a bit of both, because i can see some haloing around the edges that usually comes from sharpening. I don't mind softer focus, but it needs to be consistent - in your image some of it is tack sharp, while other parts seem soft (his right leg, for example seems artificially sharp with compression artifacts around it). The solution to all of this of course is simple - add more light, close up the aperture a little for greater DOF (F8-F9 is perfect for an indoor studio), pay close attention to focus, and (if you didn't) use a tripod.
i like the attention to detail - the tattoos, hand positions, etc...shows you paid attention, which shows respect for the original. If you were looking to improve on the composition (no insult to Soni) I'd have cropped it to give more space above him, and less below to open the image up a little. I like to give models room to move through a photo - even borders all the way around give a sense of confinement to me - but that's a personal preference thing.
So there you have it...my thoughts all wrapped into one. Overall it's a well done image, with a few minor details that could have been improved. In a tribute challenge, I'd expect this to score a 6.5ish overall. as it stands, I won't be surprised to see it in the high 4s or low 5s.
hope that helps :)
P
Photographer found comment helpful.