Request critique

[satya_v_rao]

[mikemorrellNL]

I personally think that this is your very best photo posted 'for critique' yet! In terms of content, composition and contrast, everything  just 'fits'. Let me explain why I like this photo so much:

- the background is relatively dark and the people are (in contrast) relatively 'light'; so the people all stand out from the darker background

- there's a wonderful (compositional) 'dynamic' in this photo through eye contact. Lines of 'eye contact' are probably the most powerful and the most interesting for viewers in any photo; in your photo, the two women on the left are obviously interacting and have eye contact; but the man on the right also has eye contact with the two women making a 'compositional triangle'; the other man (shoe shiner?) has eye contact with the right-most man's boots

- so all people in the photo are in some way 'connected' with each other; the photo is of a 'connected group' rather than just a photo of (unconnected) people who just happen to be there

- the setting (background) and especially the textured costumes make the 'content' very interesting to view

- there are lots of small details that make me wonder (what's going on here?) and keep me viewing

For me, this is a perfect photo. Everything just works: the content is very interesting, the composition (lines of eye-contact) is excellent and everyone stands out from the background (which is in itself interesting!).

Congratulations!

Mike

Edited December 30, 2022 by mikemorrellNL

[marc_rochkind]

As a memory (vacation snapshot) or documentation of a stage set, it probably does what you want, but as a photo the problem is that there are two photos here. There are two pairs of people, but I can't see how the pairs are connected other than being in the same scene and in clothing of a similar era. The women don't quite work because we don't see both faces, so we aren't privy to their conversation. The men are less interesting, but much better composed.