Several things hit me about this photo as having room for improvement. (By the way, I didn't vote in this challenge.)
Hope you don't mind, but I copied and played with your entry:
The areas I circled in purple are the ones that jumped out as distractions. The eye is pulled to anything white, so these areas pull attention away from your subject.
Using only basic editing techniques, I played with the color a bit. I think the distinction between the silver star and gold background could have been made a bit better. I felt the red of the cape needed a bit more saturation to "pop." The reflective gold material is risky--I know, I've used it to create my own mistakes. The color it casts is difficult to overcome in post-processing.
The focus is, appropriately, on the reflection--but it lacked sharpness.
I think the doll could have been thrown out of focus more to send the viewer's attention to the reflection. (Wider aperature.)
The composition: I would have liked to see more of the star and less of the doll--I cropped my version accordingly. The base holding the star also seems unnecessary--Perhaps a slightly different angle of view in your composition could help.
I know, it's all details, but details add up...especially in a "studio" shot where you can control every aspect.
You had a great idea full of humor! A little tighter execution and the voters would have been wowed! (IMHO)
Hope that helps. |
