Greetings from the Critique Club
by strangeghost
COMPOSITION
Silhouette shots against a sky background or sunset are usually crowd pleasers but yours suffers from some drawbacks that probably doomed it to obscurity in a large challenge. Your primary subject, the large tree on the right, is awkwardly cropped on all three sides. The right side is clearly intentional since you were not trying to capture the entire tree, but the crop on the top and left just seems haphazard. The other major compositional quibble I have is the other foliage visible on the left and squeezed in between the trunk and right edge. The result is a shot that feels cluttered and somewhat aimless. Where do you want the viewer's eye to be drawn? What is the focal point of the image? I think you would have done much better to find a single isolated branch, or the much-sought "lone tree" where you could really isolate your subject and give a clear point of interest. Now, take that single subject and wait for the sky to really glow at sunset with vivid oranges, pinks and purples, and you'd have a real eye-popper. As shot, you have barely a hint of color right at the horizon - just not enough to draw the eye - and your blue sky is a dull blue.
TECHNIQUE
Technically not bad, but you probably could have pushed the saturation a little to bring out some of those colors mentioned above. The focus is good.
OVERALL IMPACT
A serviceable shot, but not very memorable. In a challenge this size, you really need something that's going to make the voter stop and look. Your shot probably generated a quick 5 vote and move on, as reflected by your fairly middlin' score. |
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