Five On Fire
by ranm

Comment by PaulE:
Greetings from the Critique Club.

Hi Ran,

Welcome to DPC. I wish you all the best.

Seems that most of the voters didn't go for your grainy take on this subject. I think the main problem though is that in a challenge like this where there are so many buring matchstick based submissions you need a really special, creative submission to do well. What might be useful to you is to take the time to really review the top 20 or so entries.

For myself, I like the grain in your shot. It makes it different to all the other crisp, sharp flames out there. It would have been dead useful to see your post-processing steps so that I could understand what you chose to do to achieve this look. I personally would have loved to see more orange in the flames - best place to get this done is in your white-balance (easiest when shooting in RAW). The fact that none of your matchsticks are cricply in focus I think hit you badly - it makes it difficult to work out exactly where your main subject is.

It is my hope that these insights are helpful and constructive. Please feel free to PM me if you have any questions regarding this critique. And please remember to mark it "Helpful" if you found it so. Good luck with future challenges.

Cheers
Paul

Five On Fire
by ranm

Comment by Haneck:
A little bit grainy, but still an excellent shot!

All Roses Have Thorns
by ranm

Comment by karmat:
CRITIQUE CLUB CRITIQUE
by karmat

Compositionally, I think the "awkward" crop works well with the drama and tension set up by your expression and "make up." I'm not sure that the light at the top of your head, where just a bit of your hair is silhouetted is truly effective. It is actually kind of distracting to me.

Technically, the exposure is right on and you have some good detail. Also, with the neck area being softer, it helps to give some depth to the shot.

Emotionally, this shot really tells a story, or at least leads the viewer to imagine one. The black and white, the smeared black on the face all work together to build tension and emotion.

Frankly, I am surprised at your score, and would have thought that it would score higher. Reading your comments, the size thing may have also affected you, but it wasn't that noticeable to me. It is not your typical, clean bw portrait, so that may have hurt you some, but you have an awesome shot here that you can be proud of.

karmat

All Roses Have Thorns
by ranm

Comment by Bolti:
Snilldar mynd, átti 6+ skilið for sure...

All Roses Have Thorns
by ranm

Comment by Blue Moon:
very interesting, I wish the background was a little more consistent though

All Roses Have Thorns
by ranm

Comment by jfriesen:
7

All Roses Have Thorns
by ranm

Comment by Simpa:
lots of feeling and expression.. also love the lighting...

All Roses Have Thorns
by ranm

Comment by Citadel:
I would have rated this higher, had it been larger...

All Roses Have Thorns
by ranm

Comment by nards656:
Well now. Hope it got better!

All Roses Have Thorns
by ranm

Comment by atupdate:
Back to comment: A creative idea for a portrait but the eyes look over processed. This is easily fixable. 6