Greetings from the Critique Club
by strangeghost
The first three parts of this critique are written based purely on examination of your photo. "Final thoughts" is written after reviewing your score, photographer's comments, and voter comments.
TECHNIQUE
The first thing that strikes me about this image, and it's like an iron upside the head, are the horribly blown out sky highlights. Everything else looks a little underexposed (maybe auto mode?) but the powerfully overexposed whites are just too in-your-face.
COMPOSITION
It's really an odd looking composition, and doesn't come off that well, IMO. Meets the challenge, yes. Footware is prominently featured, but the angle of the tree is very odd, the left shoe is cut off (bad when that shoe is the subject) and we're seeing only the bottoms of the feet. I believe that this idea has some potential. A person - especially a kid - climbing a tree is a very interesting subject, but without more of that person to work with in the image, it's hard to hold the interest. I like the way the legs are evidently wrapped around that branch, because it suggests some tension and drama. However, it's difficult to tell if that's what's going on or not. Most of the frame is dominated by the inert mass of the trunk, which is doing nothing for your composition. Take this composition, and move to the right about two feet so the feet (and maybe a little more of the body) are more centered in the frame, and make it a little easier for us to relate to the climber. Just an idea. Many other possibilities occur to me as I look at this photo.
EMOTIONAL IMPACT
It's very minimal impact results from the technical shortcomings and questionable composition. More attention to those two areas probably would have saved this from being in the sleeper section of a challenge.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Your comments captured some of the things I was getting at, and your final score of 4.47 is about what I would have predicted. I should also add that I found your lack of a photographer's comment or any technical details about your photo frustrating (shutter, aperture, etc.). When you ask for a critique, you should consider sharing some of your own thoughts about your work. What were you aiming for? What did you like or not like about the photo? What were your frustrations with your composition, etc.? It can help your CC'er understand better your intent and purpose in make the image you did. |
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