PatrickRuegheimer on DeviantArthttps://www.deviantart.com/patrickruegheimer/art/Your-Choice-122385056PatrickRuegheimer

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Your Choice

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© 2009 - 2024 PatrickRuegheimer
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EveryNextDream's avatar
:star::star::star::star-half::star-empty: Overall
:star::star::star::star::star-empty: Vision
:star::star::star::star-empty::star-empty: Originality
:star::star::star::star-half::star-empty: Technique
:star::star::star::star-half::star-empty: Impact

The limp hand of death! That is one of my favourite devices in horror art, whether films or photographs, to make it clear that the person is dead but without having to show the entire body. It adds a hint of mystery because it leaves so much unseen, encouraging the viewer to imagine the rest of the scene.

I like the composition. It's strong and well-balanced, leading the viewer's eye through the image from the bottom right corner to the top left. This visual journey gives a feeling of depth and motion to the picture, like there's something going on rather than just a final capture.

The consistency of the blood is great. I adore big bright splattery gore. I enjoy more subtle horror as well, but pools of bright red blood filling a scene always make me smile. In the bottom left corner there's actually a reflection of the streaks on the wall in the pool of blood. Details like that show an impressive consideration, the creation of a whole image, an entire story.

I see where you're going with the shallow depth of field but I think it would be more effective if you either focused on a specific part of the blood allowing the rest of the image to fall into softness, or moved the focus to the hand. The more I look at the picture, the more I see places where a sharp focus could make the picture stronger and more coherent. I think maybe it doesn't matter so much what you focus on, as long as the focus is sharp somewhere.

Wide apertures can be really difficult to work with if you're shooting yourself or don't have somewhere solid to rest the camera. A way to help keep the camera steady is to get everything set up as you want it and then use the timer to trigger the shutter rather than pressing the button to do it. The camera's timer will always be steadier than a hand.

I've probably rambled you to death here. Over-all, I have a definite positive impression of this picture. Please don't be offended at the slightly lower Originality scrore. To be honest, if I was critiquing my own horror photos, a lot of them would lose Originality points. But that's part of the fun of horror - reinterpreting concepts that are familiar, putting your own stamp on things and enjoying the creative process as well as the finished result.