Greetings from the Critique Club Dan, and welcome to DPC.
Keep in mind this is my opinion only
Challenge Results: The score you received for this shot, your first entry, reflects a beating by the DNMC (Does not meet the Challenge) Crowd. Over time you will pick up some of the voters habits and trends.
Many around here will give a 1-4 vote If they have some preconceived notion as to the Challenge Description and we do not meet what they expect. Many voters do not read the Descriptions entirely or read too far into them. This particular challenge, "Still Life" I believe the voters were looking for that defacto standard that we all studied in Highschool Art. The ole table place setting with fruit, flowers, bowls etc.
My take on the challenge was a setting (used loosely) with signs of life (human) but no human presense.
I believe the biggest factor in your score was that the voters felt that it did not meet the challenge.
The Photo: Not bad for a first entry, however there is some room to grow. As you get beyond the DNMC, there are other areas the voters will scrutinize our shots for:
Interest Level: Many on DPC call this the WOW factor, I refer to it as interest level. Does my subject keep me focused on it, or are there other distractions in the shot. Also lessor exciting subjects need to be tack sharp and add some interest to keep the viewer focused.
Focusing on the Dandelion in the front right foreground, my periphial vision also picks up the white tips of the other not quite open and/or already free of the seed pods. These distractions are enough to get my eye wandering about the shot away from the intended subject. There is a nice bokeh in the shot but some things just stand out too much.
Always watch for distractions (especially with basic challenges) reframe the shot as necessary and/or crop the more prominent distractions out of the shot.
This particular shot perhaps I would have used levels and curves (or auto exposure/auto levels) to add a some contrast (to darken and make less interesting) the background to make the foreground dandelion stand out. I also might have applied a final sharpen to crispen up the subject.
Bottom Line: A good first challenge attempt, a first lesson in, wether right or wrong, we have to find that happy medium between what we like to shoot and how the voters (majority) perceive the Challenge Description and submit accordingly.
Andy
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