B-Day party with a couple of young musicians...

Mr. Quiet

Just a little background first. The one with the B-Day crown is the top trumpeter in his school, which is the musical high school institute of Beijing. The first girl on the left is going to Julliard as a flutist right now, that alone should show you how good she is. I should also mention that she has won a gold in a flute competition in Japan. The girl to the left of the guy is a normal musician who play the er hu, a Chinese traditional instrument. The girl to the far right write music and plays the piano. All of them are from the same school. The guy will be going to Vienna in a year or two, and the flutist in already going to Julliard, as you already know.

PLEASE CRITIQUE

PLEASE CRITIQUE

DeeCajun

on my screen it looks a little dark

great capture.. I actually love the window presence

craig_d

I agree that the image is too dark, to the point of being murky in places. The contrast is weak too.

I really don't know what you're thinking with the yellowy light from the window on the otherwise B&W image. It draws attention away from the people, who don't stand out enough against the background to begin with.

My other problem with this picture is I can't tell what they're doing. Two of the girls seem to be reaching for things, but what? Facial expressions are rather neutral and uninteresting. I think I see a birthday cake with candles on it, but it's partly hidden behind a glass and the candles aren't lit.

This seems like a shot taken too early. Maybe the girl on the left is putting candles on the cake (hard to be sure) and the guy is waiting to strike a match (can't tell what he's holding); if so, then something fun might be about to happen, but it isn't happening yet.

The surface of the table ought to be grounding and focusing the composition, but you didn't include it in the picture.

Mr. Quiet

craig_d wrote:

I agree that the image is too dark, to the point of being murky in places. The contrast is weak too.

I really don't know what you're thinking with the yellowy light from the window on the otherwise B&W image. It draws attention away from the people, who don't stand out enough against the background to begin with.

My other problem with this picture is I can't tell what they're doing. Two of the girls seem to be reaching for things, but what? Facial expressions are rather neutral and uninteresting. I think I see a birthday cake with candles on it, but it's partly hidden behind a glass and the candles aren't lit.

This seems like a shot taken too early. Maybe the girl on the left is putting candles on the cake (hard to be sure) and the guy is waiting to strike a match (can't tell what he's holding); if so, then something fun might be about to happen, but it isn't happening yet.

The surface of the table ought to be grounding and focusing the composition, but you didn't include it in the picture.

Ouch great critique! For once, you have not left me with anything to argue about