general critique please

how is the general composition/colours/subject? anything i can do to improve this shot?

Do you mind if I post an edit?

of course not go ahead!

Here's my take...

First off I cropped it pretty hard. All that bright, negative space is pulling my eye away from the subject which is your statue. This puts it a little too centered in the frame but makes for a simpler, more powerful image. The face is expressive and I think the shot works with this as your focus.

I upped the exposure a bit. The statuary was a tad underexposed, probably because of all that bright sky that has now been cropped out. There appeared to be some loss of detail in the shadows but that could be my monitor, so judge that for yourself.

Sharpened it: Just a nudge, really, but it gives the image a little more "pop".

I'll be curious to see what other people have to say, suggest.

Exactly. Shoot vertical. And use the rule of thirds. The center of attention is the statues face. It is a nice photo just be flexible in terms of going vertical sometimes with your compositions. And the reason it is a bit dark is because of the sky taking up a third of the frame, so the camera meter tries to underexpose a bit. I personally like the colors. It seems a rather sad statue but I find that appealing.

I've looked at the photo a few times and cant work out what I'm looking at.

What is the box thing?
Why does the statue have an arm coming out of it's head?
I think it's a woman but not sure.
Has the pole got any significance?

If the picture is telling a story, I don't know what it is.

Maybe a title would help.

Without knowing what I'm looking at, it's a snap (in my opinion), however it's processed.

I like Horoscope fishes take on it but I end up feeling like I'm missing something, probably a decent education if I'm the only one feeling this way.

Intended as constructive and I feel it may just be me missing something obvious.

Rexer John said:

I've looked at the photo a few times and cant work out what I'm looking at.

What is the box thing?
Why does the statue have an arm coming out of it's head?
I think it's a woman but not sure.
Has the pole got any significance?

If the picture is telling a story, I don't know what it is.

Maybe a title would help.

Without knowing what I'm looking at, it's a snap (in my opinion), however it's processed.

I like Horoscope fishes take on it but I end up feeling like I'm missing something, probably a decent education if I'm the only one feeling this way.

Intended as constructive and I feel it may just be me missing something obvious.

Click to expand...

I agree with you. It is a good picture but it does stop there. I really want to know more about a picture than it looks nice. A good photo tells a story on its own.

Original image was too dark! Post edit was great! Lightened all the shadows! Good job!