Favourite choice on the Carouselby
xsnrgComment by jadin: Greetings from the Critque Club!
Composition:
You chose a fairly unique idea for this challenge. Unfortunately your photo doesn't convey the choice very well. As it is the photo is more about the girl, than it is about the choice. While that's "ok" it didn't help your score. The shot is too "skinny" and too "tall". Since the subject matter is which horse to ride. (I'm assuming) Your crop should've focused on that. Getting perhaps a more profiled photo of your subject on her "chosen" horse. (you see where I'm going with this?)
Lighting:
The lighting is okay. It's nothing spectacular but you really had no control over this. My only recommendation would be to shoot at a different time of day when the light is bolder, and more lush. Again not something you can exactly 'setup' in a shot like this.
Technical:
You didn't list your aperture, but the front of the horses head seems most in focus. The child's face looks a little soft, I can't tell if from motion blur or depth of field since you didn't list your photo settings. Regardless, I think this photo would've improved with a tad deeper depth of field.
Post-Production:
You didn't list any modifications you did to your photo, so I can't comment on that. I can suggest, however, that adjusting the brightness / contrast and or levels would've helped this photo. It can enrich the light and color in sub-par lighting conditions. I'd also recommend using the unsharp mask filter after resizing a photo. Like I said the girl's face is a little soft, and a little sharpening wouldn't hurt.
Again I don't care for the crop. I'd like to see more of the ceiling removed, and more of the horses added for the "choice". Not only that but the image is fairly small for the limitations. Photos must be 640 in largest dimension, and 150KB or less. Your photo is 480 in largest dimension and 44KB. You had plenty of room to work with if you wanted to include more detail in your photo.
Overall:
I like the idea, but the photo doesn't convey the "choice" very strongly. Getting more of the horses would've helped this. Also fine-tuning your light settings in photoshop would've warmed the photo quite a bit. Lastly remember to sharpen photos after resizing them. Very often shrinking them will make them soften and lose some detail. Sharpening usually corrects this.
Good idea, and good submission. I look forward to what you submit in future challenges.
Photographer found comment helpful.