minerby
guillermo21Comment by Dr.Confuser: Greetings from the Critique Club! I have been assigned your photo to critique and here are my thoughts:
Personal Reaction: Although I didnât vote this challenge, my initial reaction was that this was a middle-of-the-pack photo. Further reflection didnât bump it in my opinion, either up or down.
Composition: Good composition, although it feels tight to me. There is essentially no room around the face for context (more later). But given the crop, the compâs fine.
Technicals: Excellent. Lighting, tonal range, focus, DoF ⦠essentially everything is spot on.
Overall: You got some comments that this looked âfakeâ or âmade up.â But I donât think this was the photoâs greatest issue. For me, what would have âmadeâ the photo would have been the inclusion of context. Put the face in a mine, or in front of mining equipment, or something to lend it meaning. I do agree that the dirt is pretty neat ⦠it doesnât look dirty, but rather applied. If he had rubbed his hands all over his face smearing the dirt, working it into his pores, clumping it up in his whiskers ⦠it would have seemed more realistic. This has to do with the fitness for the theme more than the photo on its own merit.
As always, these are my personal observations. Feel free to PM me if youâd like further dialog about the photo or my critique.
Photographer found comment helpful.
