Greetings from the Critique Club!
I have a 426-lb cast-iron woodstove that I keep fired 24/7 for at least 5 months of the year, and have often wanted to do shots like this with nice red-hot coals in the bg. On to your image. I think it's great, and the high number of 6s and 7s seems to reflect that. The crouching photog cutout seems a little too close to the coals, though. Almost too much is in focus here. Black bristol board may last a little longer, btw :-)
Your settings otherwise are fine for this shot, I imagine you used a tripod. I think a shallower dof, enough to keep the photog in focus but enough to blur out the bg slightly, would have given you an even higher score. If possible I would recommend tossing in something like dried orange peel (burns brightly, and beautifully, but very briefly) to give you a bit of a flame. Wouldn't hurt to see what you got with it.
Overall a wonderful shot, by all means play around with the settings and see what happens. Look forward to seeing more of your work.
Feel free to PM me with any questions,
Susan |