Hello from the Critique Club,
I think there are several technical issues with this image that had a less than favorable effect on your score. I'll try to break it down into individual categories for discussion. Since there is little detail in the photographer's comment section, I have to guess at how this image was taken and post processed. Therefore, my comments are based on some assumptions (Which I will state) and can be disregarded if the assumptions are wrong. If my assumptions are wrong, feel free to PM me with the correct details and I'll try to help you as much as I can.
Sharpness: The image doesn't appear to have any areas sharply in focus. This could be related to camera shake, as it is sometimes difficult to hand hold an image at a shutter speed of 1/20 sec. If your original is sharp, then it could be from down sizing the image for the challenge. Most DPCers sharpen the images after down sizing to 640 pixels. The most common sharpening tool for doing this is USM but if your program doesn't have that option, I suggest you use the lowest setting possible and sharpen a couple of times if necessary.
Lighting: I'm guessing that you used on camera flash. The result from the direct flash is that the black hat shows very little detail and looks flat. If you would have used window light from the side or some other side lighting instead of the on camera flash, it would have provided better a light gradient on the hat and helped provide better definition.
Composition/Subject Matter: The subjects are centered in the image and provide little to hold the viewers attention. Plus, the hat and boa are very ordinary objects and there doesn't appear to be any relationship between two. There may be a connection for you but the connection doesn't come across to the voter in this image. If you plan on shooting everyday objects for a DPC challenge, you need to do it in a very creative way if you want a solid score (5 or higher).
Feel free to PM me if you have any questions regarding this critique.
Tim
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