You nailed the focus on the eyes. That's the very first thing, and often the hardest. The front of the shirt, drenched in sweat, is also in focus. Nice pic. I like the sidelight, too.
Even though he had a hard workout, he doesn't appear to be tired. Just wet.
You are definitely getting closer to a "Dragan" effect here.
Thank you - I wasn't satisfied, though, but couldn't really figure out why. It seems to be the lighting/colors due to the light.
Also, he doesn't really say enough with his eyes, I think? (If you get what I mean)
I went back and tried again but this time I also took him outside, much much better imo.
Got something similar to this, got one slightly better but haven't had the time to edit it properly yet.
For this I used f/3.5 to avoid the soft look of the highest aperture.
his eyes? thats all i see different
You are correct.
"Also, he doesn't really say enough with his eyes, I think?"
They sort of disappeared and had no intensity. All I did was lighten the eyes so that stand out. To me they are now the focus of the photo. Again, that is my opinion.
Any comments?
I see And you are right - maybe a bit to much brightened but I get the idea.
Singlerosa, had doubts about the crop but ended up with this, I thought he had way to much head if I didn't. I will see if it can work without such a hard crop.