What did I do wrong?

[Dangerspouse]

Sometimes as photographers its not easy to see why some one would like one of our images more than another

I put some shots on flickr, this one got more like than the second one, i much prefer the second as i see more character in the face.

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I understand what you're saying, and I guess it's just something I've got to get used to. As long as I know it wasn't my technique per se that was lacking, which is what I was worried about (although having said that, in a way I do wish it had been poor technique as that would at least be something I could address concretely).

You know what's funny? I also prefer the first picture. They are both excellent shots, but that first one with the red eye and the lighter background is a combo that just grabbed me as soon as I saw it. The white version is just as good technically, but perhaps the fact that it's a sight so often seen by me that it's practically mundane made the difference. But as you say, you prefer that one. So...vive la différence!

Thanks very much, Mike

 

[Dangerspouse]

I liked your entry and the humor that went with it. I think you did a fine job.

Thanks very much Andy, that's very nice of you to say.

 

[Dangerspouse]

I think it was very clever and well executed. I'm finding that a lot of people just don't spend much time examining and contemplating photos. It has to GRAB them at about 1/1000 of a second or they move on. We live in an extremely fast paced world. especially online, so it's our responsibility to get peoples attention or we won't. My only critique is, perhaps it was too well lit. Some moody, dramatic lighting might have caught the viewer attention more. Maybe.

Thank you for the kind words, and the excellent points you made. I see what you mean about lighting and how I might otherwise have grabbed someone's attention more quickly by varying ti. Had I toned it down - either with less light, or dropping the overall exposure - it might have given it a more "clubby" feel, with the leather chair, hardwood floor, bookcase, etc. That was a very good observation. I'll keep that in mind when I compose things in the future.

Thanks again!

 

[MorkC68]

I got three likes for my attempt in the competition, which is fair enough, it was far from a well compiled image. The weekly and monthly competitions have some truly amazing shots entered which set a very high bar to aim for.

The challenges, for me, are a learning tool to push me to get creative and improve somewhat.

Photography can be a very subjective, one person will see a truly amazing shot while the next person see's a photo, nothing more, nothing less.

 

[Dangerspouse]

I got three likes for my attempt in the competition, which is fair enough, it was far from a well compiled image. The weekly and monthly competitions have some truly amazing shots entered which set a very high bar to aim for.

The challenges, for me, are a learning tool to push me to get creative and improve somewhat.

Photography can be a very subjective, one person will see a truly amazing shot while the next person see's a photo, nothing more, nothing less.

Thank you for that. I agree with all of it. I was just curious, as a relative beginner, what technical shortcomings if any my diptych picture had which caused it to garner far fewer likes than all my previous pictures. To me, all of my offerings seemed of the same general skill level, yet that particular one was not rated as highly as the others and I was stumped as to why. I posted this query to see if I could gain insight, and thus improve. In much the same way you also use the challenges to improve.

Thanks again :encouragement:

 

[Dawg Pics]

Kudos to you for asking for a critique on your image. It took me a year to ask for one.

FWIW, I don't know if you know anything about photo competitions. I only know about them by association because my Dad was a professional photographer who was in the local camera clubs, and I attended many of the photo competition meetings and image critiques. The title affects how people think about your image. The theme was "Books," but you titled or commented on the image, "Married Life." What were you really trying to convey with the image?

Think about why you did that. Did you call it that after composing the image or was married life really what you were going for plus some humor using books as a prop to get there? Just something to think about for the future.

I enjoy humor in images, keep it up. "Don't judge a book by it's cover." or something like that might have steered some people toward a different view of the image.

 

[Texas]

I often used to say (especially at the office): "Leave comedy to the professionals"

 

[Dangerspouse]

Kudos to you for asking for a critique on your image. It took me a year to ask for one.

FWIW, I don't know if you know anything about photo competitions. I only know about them by association because my Dad was a professional photographer who was in the local camera clubs, and I attended many of the photo competition meetings and image critiques. The title affects how people think about your image. The theme was "Books," but you titled or commented on the image, "Married Life." What were you really trying to convey with the image?

Think about why you did that. Did you call it that after composing the image or was married life really what you were going for plus some humor using books as a prop to get there? Just something to think about for the future.

I enjoy humor in images, keep it up. "Don't judge a book by it's cover." or something like that might have steered some people toward a different view of the image.

Wow, thanks very much for that considered advice, Dawg. Those were points I hadn't considered, and make an awful lot of sense. You're right, I don't have any knowledge of competitions at all. I did accidentally enter one a few months ago and took second place (you can read my - hopefully -funny account of it here). But other than that I'm a complete novice. So I do appreciate you passing on your insider tips here. I'll take them to heart.

All the best!

:encouragement:

 

[Dangerspouse]

I often used to say (especially at the office): "Leave comedy to the professionals"

Believe it or not, that is actually my profession. Or at least, it's a big part of it.