Greetings from the Critique Club!
A difficult subject as cats at play are in near constant motion and you have to get them when you can!
Composition: The subject is isolated by cropping and a fairly neutrall background. However I feel there could be less of the fabric and more of the cat in the image--recomposing this shot would have helped. The most interesting part of an animal is the face, if that cute little mug had been placed closer to one of the intersections of the imaginary rule-of-thirds lines, the composition would be somewhat stronger.
Lighting: There appears to be a single light source which casts strong shadows behind the cat's ears. Though likely unavoidable, it gives the sense of a quickly snapped image. The lighting is harsh enough that, even though there no true blacks in this image the one paw and the fur on the cheeks have lost detail (slightly blown out highlights). A more even light and, possibly, a secondary light source would have helped in this case. If the main source of light is an on-camera flash, that would account for the harsh highlight on the ball and the bright spots on the fur. On-camera flashes at close range can be deadly as they are primarily designed to cover a broad area at a distance.
Technical considerations: The image is presented as 640 pixels wide, however, the file size is quite small. I see pixelation on the whiskers and facial fur--the compressed file size may contribute to this. Additionally, you may have oversharpened the image. Fine lines such as whiskers are tell-tale for file compression and sharpening. The face is in focus, but much of the rest of the subject does not appear to be--that's o.k. in an image like this, but since the ball is an important part of the composition, care should be taken to ensure that it is sharp as well.
The choice of black and white is fine for me. However, in the context of the challenge, voters seemed to want to see a pale color on a white background. If the fabric is not white, then you had to go in this direction to meet the basic challenge criteria. (And you can't always guess where the votes are going to fall.)
Overall, a good attempt to capture a playful moment.
Keep shooting!
--Kadi |
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