I don't usually do these threads, but this one has had me perplexed all week - The comments really don't tell me why it received the score it did. What were you - the voter - looking for / thinking when you scored this one?
I didn't vote this challenge, but I checked the photo's I liked in thumbs, and yours was one of them.
I didn't read the comments, so I might say something again.
At first, I think the focus is a bit off. It's on the back of the glass-plate. Focussing on the girl OR on the 10 would be better I think.
Second, I think the setting is a bit too dark. Birthdays are fun, and a lighter setting (white background, and more light from the left) might have worked better.
I think it is because the "10" is out of focus versus the young lady.
Perhaps if you could have had her leaning in to the candle real close, meaning the front of the face was down lower and very close to the candle and then had only the candle and the front of her face in focus with everything in front of the candle and behind the plane of her face out of focus.
Second, I think the setting is a bit too dark. Birthdays are fun, and a lighter setting (white background, and more light from the left) might have worked better.
Yeah, but many have the tradition of turning off the lights in a room when a person is to blow out the candles.
Second, I think the setting is a bit too dark. Birthdays are fun, and a lighter setting (white background, and more light from the left) might have worked better.
Yeah, but many have the tradition of turning off the lights in a room when a person is to blow out the candles.
True.
But still, IMHO it would be better. More fresh. Hope you know what I mean.
I was one of th emany 6s you received. I thought that the image was good, meeting the challenge, but I agree with others here that the focus should have been on the candles: with the focus on the girl, the image is all about "birthday", or "growing older", whereas focus on the candles would have emphasised that the important thing is that she is "10", and not another age.
To me, there is also a slight colour cast in her skin tones, but overall, in my top 25% for the challenge (so I think that you were a bit hard done by).
I tend to agree with others here. It has great potential. The DOF just is not quite right. The only thing in crisp sharpness is her bangs, the cake is soft as is her face and back of her hair. My eyes were drawn to one snall are on her forehead due to it's sharpness. I believe if the entire photo was soft focus it may have done better or if the 10 was sharp and she was in the soft focus part it would have done better. Heck, this was in the middle of the pack, not really a bad score anyway.
I thought she looked older than 10, not much, like 12ish. I gave it a 6.
If I may ask the same on mine. I really thought this was a ribbon contenter. 6.4 is a good score, I know. But I thought I nailed this one. Any suggestions that would have put this one over the top?
I really thought this was a ribbon contenter. 6.4 is a good score, I know. But I thought I nailed this one. Any suggestions that would have put this one over the top?
I liked the image - the colours are great. I gave you a 6, because I thought that the image was strong, but the connection to the number 10 was only moderate. There were quite a few "hands" shots, and while your image is great, the winning hands shot was photographically top notch (I gave it a 7 - again limited a little because of the only moderate connection to the challenge). In my voting, I tended to favour a more literal interpretation of the challenge title.
Having said that, my own entry was a bit of a shoe-horn, and I seriously thought twice before entering it for that reason (I took it because it was pretty, and had to emphasise what was a weak connection to the challenge!).
From the comments, it seems most people scored mine only on the literal level; the metaphorical component seems to have not made much of an impression ...
From the comments, it seems most people scored mine only on the literal level; the metaphorical component seems to have not made much of an impression ...
