Is this a portrait ?

I'm considering putting this into the camera club portrait competition. It meets the criteria as it has a person in it but I don't know how a non-diver would see it. I can't detach myself from the who, where, when and how.
Does it make sense to you or do you see legs and arms all over the place ? Or is it just a snapshot ?

Any thoughts and comments appreciated.

Steve.

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/e55u​Cn

IMO, it is just a snapshot. The composition is not correct with him dead center and his hand nearly off frame.

I would say it was a portrait, being dead centre doesn't disqualify it from being labelled as such.

However it is poorly composed and not particularly interesting, I do appreciate that the effort gone into such an image is immense, but the final image lacks conviction.

Context is sorely missing, either the ocean floor, animals, a wider shot to display the depth... as it is, you could be in the local swimming pool.

I assume you can keep experimenting, eventually you will get the shot you are looking for.

Not meant to harsh, but I would say yes it is a portrait, just not a good one. Everything that Jim already said.

Also, if it is an underwater, scuba portrait you want to try out, I would recommend getting a more typical portrait pose, and composition in an atypical environment. Have him pose upright, not that easy while diving, compose with chest/head filling the frame, and have him take out the reg and blow some bubbles.

Generally a portrait implies a certan intentional craftsmanship where the photographer has some control over the elements of the photo. This is more of a candid.

I'd vote that it's technically an "environmental portrait", but really it's just a snapshot of someone scuba diving. I can't see enough of his features to convey any sort of expression.

The light rays are pretty; making it a bit more "frame-able", but I'm not sure that helps the "portrait" case any.

There are obviously opinions in both directions, so go ahead and put it into your club competition; they'll either accept it or they won't, but people will see it.

Thanks for the feedback. That's what I suspected.
It's meaningful to me and to him and probably to other technical divers who have done long decompression stops but not to 'normal people'.
Thank you 'normal people'.

Steve.

I hope we didnt imply that its meaningless. Candids can be just as powerful, as a portrait, even more so. Its a distinctIon about technical style, not quality.

I would not qualify it as a portrait. Yes its a person, but as you have read all the comments... All of which I agree.... its more of a nice underwater snapshot. Nothing about it captures my thought. There is just no story here.