need honest critique!

tear it apart and put it back together, i need a brutally honest critique on this one!

Wow very striking and poignant. Reminds me of those old 2nd World War shots on the front line. Would be good to see a bit more saturation and perhaps a little lighter.

It does look initially like some kind of war zone, especially if the flower was more saturated.
I'm curious what you think of the image, what are you trying to say to us?

the more I'm looking at it, It's losing it's initial apeal, it's lacking in 'pop' / contrast.

I think the composition is excellent but it's a bit washed out and dull. Shame the sky is featureless. I'm not too keen on the hillside at the back that fades into nothing. Here's what I would have done in PP:

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Doesn't make sense that the hibiscus flower would even be there. Take it out?

Flo wrote in post #6144391
Doesn't make sense that the hibiscus flower would even be there. Take it out?

I don't think there would be much point in this photo without the flower! (I assume Bigbitt didn't plant it there just before taking the shot. Hmmm.....)

Speedie wrote in post #6144424
I don't think there would be much point in this photo without the flower! (I assume Bigbitt didn't plant it there just before taking the shot. Hmmm.....)

Here they are house plants So seeing it in what I assume is a corn field(?) seems wrong, to me.
Just not liking the flower in this shot.no biggie.

Speedie- I wanted this to be a somewhat moody shot, it was very hazy this morning. I appreciate the reprocess, but I think I’m going to stick with mine… sometimes desaturated colors work better with the feel of a shot, and I hope this is one of those occasions. Lol yeah I actually did plant it right there before the shot.

Swaffs- I think we may use a little too much “pop” in our work sometimes… this is supposed to be a somewhat neutrally colored shot. And as far as what I’m trying to say with it, my mother has been hospitalized for the past week with a faulty heart, and she has maintained the same beautiful personality that is in stark contrast with everything going on in her life. essentially, this is a portrait of my mother.

Flo- Lol I actually dropped the plant into the ground right there… I bought it at Lowes like 20 minutes before the shot. Would a different plant work there, or are you talking about just plain bad composition? The flower was a big reason I wanted to take this shot (read what I wrote to swaffs about what I was trying to say)... you are right, it is a post harvest corn field

Bigbitt8706 wrote in post #6145543
Speedie- I wanted this to be a somewhat moody shot, it was very hazy this morning. I appreciate the reprocess, but I think I’m going to stick with mine… sometimes desaturated colors work better with the feel of a shot, and I hope this is one of those occasions. Lol yeah I actually did plant it right there before the shot.

Swaffs- I think we may use a little too much “pop” in our work sometimes… this is supposed to be a somewhat neutrally colored shot. And as far as what I’m trying to say with it, my mother has been hospitalized for the past week with a faulty heart, and she has maintained the same beautiful personality that is in stark contrast with everything going on in her life. essentially, this is a portrait of my mother.

Flo- Lol I actually dropped the plant into the ground right there… I bought it at Lowes like 20 minutes before the shot. Would a different plant work there, or are you talking about just plain bad composition? The flower was a big reason I wanted to take this shot (read what I wrote to swaffs about what I was trying to say)... you are right, it is a post harvest corn field

Amen. I've been seeing this term more and more lately and it's a little trite now and creatively stifling.

Would a different plant work there?

YES a Poppy.

Malc

The flower kills it for me as well. It looks like you just plopped it down which is what you said you did. Now, if you took a minute to plant a sprig of grass or a young flower that looks like it's just starting to grow I think we'd have something.

Reminds me of the aftermath ofan eruption

Flo,

Hibiscus do grow outdoors. I have some hardy ones in my yard on Long Island. They also grow wild in the tropics. However, you don't see them in burned out corn fields. It looks artificial there.

I'm not sure about the ethics of dropping in the flower, but as far as the shot goes I really like the mood of it. The flower could be bigger in the frame as the right side isn't adding to the story of the image.

Have you tried it as a high-contrast B&W?

I like speedie's edit.