Disco & Nightlifeby
SimpaComment by dr rick: Greetings from the Critique Club.
The overall feel of this photo is certainly suggestive of disco and nightlife, albeit the relaxed sort where you can have a nice conversation rather than a night on the dance floor. The horizontal format and preponderance of horizontal lines, and warm colors evoke a peaceful feeling. And the overall dark tones work very well, with the dark shadows adding a touch of the mysterious.
The composition is balanced, with the lighter discs on the left complementing the darkness on the right. The light necklace in the middle is a great touch, providing a needed contrast to the overall darkness. There are some diagonal lines to keep it from being completely static, but I think it could use just a few more. Not so many as to overwhelm the relaxing feeling, but perhaps if one of the CD cases was a bit skewed instead of carefully arranged the photo would be a bit more interesting.
But I'm really bothered by the "floating" discs that have no visible means of support. Although they are well positioned compositionally, they seriously detract from the photo's realism.
I am personally not at all bothered by the "busyness" of the photo. Indeed, I like the complexity and interesting textures. The majority of DPC voters seem to prefer simplicity, but I think trying to simplify this photo would undermine the feeling that it conveys so well.
The brightness of the front center CD is very distracting. It draws attention away from the rest of the photo, and just doesn't fit the overall feeling. Tilting it slightly would keep it from reflecting so much light and greatly improve the photo.
I'm torn over the depth of field. The soft focus on the CD cases is nice. But the CD's themselves just look out of focus. So I guess overall I'd prefer more DOF.
Finally, try adding a small amount of noise. I personally think it enhances the feeling, but that's a personal opinion. Give it a try and see what you think.
Message edited by author 2007-04-08 19:33:02.