The Professorby
arlanbartComment by Lustre: Greetings from the Critique Club
Technical Qualities
As people suggested in the original comments during the challenge - I think there are a couple of technical issues that could be addressed. The most distracting are the shadows of the glasses on the wall and the shadow under the dogs chin. This appears to definitely be a result of using on-camera flash. If you were using an external flash I would suggest either a diffuser of some sort (like a softbox) or bouncing the flash (off the ceiling would work unless you are very close to the dog). Another way of dealing with the background shadow would involve introducing a separate light for the background, but you would want to still keep it darker than the main subject.
There are also the issues of blown highlights on the white beside the dogs nose and slight out of focus on the nose. Decreasing the aperture just slightly (F5.6 or F6.3 maybe) would have given a little more focal depth - I'd only go for a little more because I think having the ears out of focus works well. The blown highlights are more difficult but, again, diffused or bounced light would help to a degree as would slight underexposure - which could then be addressed in an image editor.
Besides those issues I really like the sharpness and detail of the shot - particularly the glasses and hair around the eyes.
Composition / Subject
I think the subject and composition are probably the strongest aspects of this shot. The dog is very photogenic and the tilt of the head, combined with the glasses, is priceless. The relatively close cropping around the head works really well, and the simple background doesn't distract from the main subject. Having both ears pointing up also really adds to the shot - you have a very good model. :-)
Choosing a square aspect ratio for the shot really complements the squareness of the dogs face - leaving an essentially equal amount on each side. This shot would be weaker in either landscape or portrait orientation, so well done on choosing this crop.
Border / Title
I'm a little undecided about the border - it isn't bad but it doesn't add much to the shot either. The title on the other hand is absolutely perfect - Simple, concise and totally appropriate.
Emotional / Challenge
I think it's a great photo of your uncle's dog - I'm sure he was impressed by it. This challenge is obviously quite different to most challenges but I still think you chose well. Oddly, it scored lower than some of your other photo's but I think it is a really good shot. It was obviously a tough challenge - it's hard to score high in a challenge with so many entries.
Summary
I really like the shot - it has wonderful emotion and is also very humourous and fun. I also liked your portfolio entry "Four trees" of the same dog. If you want something to improve upon then it looks to me like you should experiment with your lighting. This same shot without the harsh shadows and overexposure would be awesome. If you have an external Canon strobe (EX380 or whatever they are called) then you are all set - just start pointing it at walls or ceilings instead of directly at the subject. If you want more info or example of the differences then just let me know.
Photographer found comment helpful.