Hi Robert, greetings from the Critique Club!
It's very cool that you went for a self-portrait, having done these myself I realize that there's a lot more than just to press the shutter.
Regarding this shot:
Composition
Great portrait, very frontal and in-your-face. The fact that you used such a sterile environment helps people concentrate on the main subject, and draw all attention there.
Lighting / Technique
There are just 3 things (in my opinion) that kept from a higher score:
- the shadow on the left, from the overhead light, is a bit noticeable on your neck/shoulder. Some kind of bouncing from below would help to minimize this
- The blown highlights at high right
- the reflections on the eyes of the mask don't allow for the eyes to be completely visible. Don't know if a polarized filter would do the trick, since the reflection is not straight ahead, but maybe you could see a little bit more look with this.
Processing
Very good job on the monochrome, the contrast is very effective and well done, an almost b&w shot and a lot of detail in the mask.
Overall
Although it placed where it did, it's a very interesting and out of the box photo, and with just a few improvements could be really a stronger picture.
If you have any questions feel free to contact me.
Regards,
Joao |