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SpotlightStudioComment: You had posted a note in the forums asking for some feedback on your shot... I've already voted, and as a member of SC I can look up who took what, so I thought I'd pitch in with some answers as to why you may not be scoring as well as what you had hoped. Please don't take any of this as being harsh... remember
you had asked for a critique :)
For me, the selective desaturation seems a little gratuitous. It's almost like saying, "HEY LOOK! THERE'S YELLOW HERE!" to point out that it meets the challenge. To pull off the selective desaturation, I probably would have tried sticking to just one subject, rather than trying to bring two things into it (the bird and the hat).
Lighting is also a bit of an issue here. The flash left some pretty harsh shadows on the tree. It makes me wonder why you chose to shoot it at night? Does it add to the "story" of the shot? Furthermore... what IS the story of the shot? I'm not sure how I'm supposed to feel about viewing it. What is she doing to the bird? Is she admiring it... touching it... curious about it? The shot doesn't really trigger an emotion or tell a story -- I suspect that's also a big part of why it's scoring poorly.
Another detracting issue is the spider web, or whatever caused the streaks hanging on the wood. I would say that the whole wooden hanger could have been cropped out, along with the remnants of the fence on the right, to give more attention to the subject.
Again, please understand I'm only trying to help here... overall the shot just lacks a bit of "zing" (and clear intention) to grab attention for a higher score.
Photographer found comment helpful.
