Blue Ivy
by NHCameraMan

Comment by zadore:
...from Critique Club...

Hi

FIRST IMPRESSION:
Where's the blue?

COMPOSITION:
I am not a big fan of centered subjects...sorry. Placing your subject to either side of the frame (probably to the left) on a horizontal oriented frame would show more of the shadow (try the shadow at a diff angle, too) and make for a more interesting comp...IMO :(


TECHNICAL:
Focus is pretty good. Lighting seems to be a problem, as you have overexposed the left leaves quite a bit. I would try diffusing the light. :(

ARTISTIC:
I think I understand what you were trying to achieve and I think it's a great creative idea. I would...for this challenge...try a more neutral background though, as red is the predominant color and not blue :)

OVERALL:
I didn't find this photo to be good at all (sorry :( ...mainly because of the composition and lighting.

Cheers.

Blue Ivy
by NHCameraMan

Comment by Journey:
Just wanted to say that i like this image. The lighting isn't so great (blown out on the ivy), shadow is nice but would have been more interesting at a deeper angle, and it would have been better if the red of the background would have been uniform in tone. But i do like the strong colors, the interesting, understated composition, and the props. You shot this as a portrait with the subject right smack in the middle. And that's fine. If you had moved the subject over much more off-center and give a lot more negative space, the image would have become more intriguing and more zen-like (keep in mind this is coming from a zenner ;). Your score probably suffered somewhat from you picking a red background instead of going for more blue but i'm glad that you went for the red. Besides, the bottle is blue and the Ivy is indeed Blue Ivy :) so that should be enough but dpc voters love overkill. Congrats anyway on a very fine attempt. Journey

Blue Ivy
by NHCameraMan

Comment by PTLParsons:
This is a beautiful bright photo. One question. Where the shadow is is there a fold in the field it is sitting on. It sure looks like it. Wish you could have gooten this without any shadow. Everything else is so crisp and clean with nothing else but what you have. Understand? My eyes keep going to that shadow and fold. Bothers me. But still beautiful picture. PTL 9

Blue Ivy
by NHCameraMan

Comment by Turbotech:
First off not a bad idea. Light is a bit too harsh and the shadow would be more impressive on a 45% angle. This is not a human potrait but a portrait none the less. I think This would have fared much better with a lighting such as that. I would have used what is known in style as a Rembrandt Light Setup. which casts the shadow on a 45 degree angle.

Blue Ivy
by NHCameraMan

Comment by vestanpance:
Good composition and colour. Maybe it would be better without the long shadow (I'm not sure!)

Blue Ivy
by NHCameraMan

Comment by KarenB:
I think the lighting was too intense. Perhaps a diffuser, or backing the lighting away a bit would help that. Limited interest, but good set up otherwise.

Blue Ivy
by NHCameraMan

Comment by jonr:
Beutyful, very Zen.

Blue Ivy
by NHCameraMan

Comment by Jacko:
Lovely colours. Slightly over exposed on the leaves, but an overall great shot. jacko 8

Blue Ivy
by NHCameraMan

Comment by anz:
lovely use of contrasting and complementary colours-anz

Blue Ivy
by NHCameraMan

Comment by Natasha:
I love the simple composition of this, although I love the red background, you could have used a different shade of blue to make it more appropriate to the challenge. The light on the left side of the Ivy is a little harsh.