Candid cyclistby
snafflesComment by strangeghost: Greetings from the Critique Club
by strangeghost
The first three parts of this critique are written based purely on examination of your photo. "Final thoughts" is written after reviewing your score, photographer's comments, and voter comments.
TECHNIQUE
It strikes me pretty quickly that the contrast in this photo is pretty low. There are a few black blacks and white highlights, but the overwhelming impression is a lot of gray. Focus is also soft throughout, which can be fine if it is serving a compositional purpose, but I can't see any intent or reason.
COMPOSITION
There are seven people visible in the shot, and several environmental elements. Let's discuss. Three people face the camera and three have their backs to the camera (we'll ignore the person second from the left since she's almost completely obscured). Any of the three people on the left are potentially interesting subjects. The bike rider looking off to his left, the two guys walking show interesting facial expressions and could be fascinating candid studies. The problem is, there's no compositional emphasis on any of them. All three are relatively equally emphasized by placement, and none fills the frame enough to dominate the emotional landscape. Likewise the people walking away. Interesting looking folks, but again, no clear subject emerges. The environmental elements; the newspaper machine, the window sign, the crosswalk sign: all are interesting but again, none seems to rise to the level of subject. What was your intent in snapping the pic? Did you want to tell a story or suggest a creative storyline? The picture doesn't really suggest anything to me other than people on a street. Imagine the difference now, if the bike rider was clearly in the foreground and the others were background. The eye would be drawn naturally to him, maybe his placement in frame would emphasize his facial expression or mood. Stories begin to leap to mind. The composition presented here has too many elements with none appearing dominant, and the resulting photo seems to lack a clear purpose or any overall logic tying all the elements together.
EMOTIONAL IMPACT
There is some emotional connection suggested here, just because people are always interesting subjects, but the lack of a clear compositional clarity or logic hurts this photo. After seeing this photo and looking away, there are no enduring images or details that stick in my brain and make me think.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I can tell by your title that the rider was your intended subject, but I never would have guess this from the photo alone. Your score of 4.8 suggests that DPC voters were similarly unmoved by the photo and probably did not spend much time lingering. Some commenters did mention the walk sign as a possible item of interest, but without your working to make it the subject, it didn't really emerge from the mix. Some also mentioned the technicals (contrast and exposure). Think about what you want your viewer to walk away with. Make a clear and interesting subject emerge from the mix of elements.
I really enjoyed the chance to study your photo in detail. I hope something in my comments was useful.
Photographer found comment helpful.
