Untitled

I would change the color of feather.

Thanks for he comment Ken.  May I ask why? I was hoping to bring in a little more color, and as the feather had a blue cast to it, I just thought to bolster it a bit so that it popped. 

Many of my images, like this one, are averaging a rating in the high

4's on this site. I am seeking advice on how to improve the average

score of my images. If you wouldn't mind taking a quick glance at

some of my other images - I don't believe any have broken the 5.0 mark.

Many Thanks.

I as well would change the feather to different one as this one blends into the background and does not stand out and doesn't give the wow factor to me but very nicely done though

Dave

I think you are really asking two separate questions.  The first and most important one is "How can I create better images?"  The answer is to find books that show the works of famous photographers and to find books that discuss photographic craftmanship.  Start by emulating the methods of the acknowledged photographers - then explore ideas on your own.  Your images will get better with time.

The second question is how do I get higher points on P.N. rating scale.  There are two answers possible.  Give it up as a meaningless exercise or find a group of fellow point seekers and rate each other highly.

Jerry

Jerry makes some good points!

Personally, I don't feel this is a bad image.  It has some very good qualities.  You'll get a variety of suggestions... some with merit, some not.  If you'll familiarize yourself with some photographers of notoriety (as Jerry mentioned), you'll be able to discern which comments might benefit you, and which ones should be discarded.  The very bottom line... does it please you?  Did it happen by accident, or did you orchestrate it?

Regarding ratings, forget it!  I stopped using the rating system quite some time back, until it is changed to be equitable and responsible.  The ratings really mean nothing anyway. 

I would give the feather a somewhat lighter blue(red, green or yellow would be in contradiction with the girl's mood) to separete it from the background, An overall very nice portrait! About the ratings, i'm glad that i'm not alone, find friends and rate each other high or simply forget about it, To me only comments have meaning.

Thanks to All for your insight. I am not sure that I was asking how to become a better photographer as much as I was specifically asking what elements I could introduce to my photographs that would give it an improved quality, or to be more precise - what are my images lacking? Is it safe to say "everything",  which one could address by studying what the notable photographers are doing (which is what i thought I was doing) , or as an example, one member commented (on another one of my images) that I may be relying too heavily on the black backgrounds, and so the issue of a more dynamic background was introduced.  While I may have used the average scores from this site metaphorically, regardless of personal biases there is some degree of credibility associated with 30 ratings consistently returning "average" scores - hence my inquiry. Thanks again for your insight.

on the 1st click this one is >5: http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=4060119

Understandably so: it is special. The rest, well it was seen a thousand times before, often technically better done. Maybe you should try to create more such special shots, instead of following the average nudity road. And I think the copyright should be a bit more unobtrusive.

Stephan - thank you for your reply.  You allude to similar images done by others which are  technically superior, but yet you don't elaborate.  It is precisely that feedback I seek.  I will not stray from the nudes, nor the black or moody background  as  strangely enough I characterize each of my images to be "hauntingly" beautiful.  

I can only echo what has been already said, forget about the ratings.

They are meaningless. Try submitting "for critique only", at least 10% of the comments will be helpful. Most will congratuatory only.