In the photofinishing I tried something and I am not sure how well it worked for the image. Ordinarily the focal point of the photo would be the subject's face, but by leaving color in her collar, I was trying to make a diagonal line across the photo which would move the eye from the main focal point across the image...sort of a flow...but I worry that the red, instead of enhancing is distracting.
I would appreciate ANY artistic or technical critique. Thanks!
Hi, Effie. To put in my two cents... What is the point of the photo? If it is the expression and personality of the dog, the red is distracting and would be better left in greyscale. I think it would still balance the whole. On the other hand, if you are promoting ID tags, the red couldn't be better. "Your well-dressed canine ALWAYS sports her stylish name tag..." "See how special MY people think I am?" That's my thots, for what they might be worth. Cute pic! Evelyn
Effie, I'm a sucker for dog photos, especially when the dog is as expressive as yours. The charm of this image is in your pup's expressive eyes. As you mentioned in the About, my eye is significantly distracted by the red. At first glance I wondered why someone wanted to take a picture of a dog tag, then I noticed that, oh yeah...there is a dog attached!
Your original goal of composing the image using a diagonal to lead the viewer's eye through the photo is laudable, but to me the red overpowers both the diagonal and the primary subject.
With this cute dog, I'd reshoot...forget selective desaturation...and really play with capturing his (her?) face in a way that connects with the viewer.
I like it - it's a very nice portrait of the dog with catchlight in the eyes. I don't find the red distracting - I think it balances the top and bottom parts of the composition. (PS my own artistic ability needs plenty further development, so let's see what others say...)
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{K:17558} 4/9/2005