Tried to follow the rules

[thinkricky]

Here is a shot I tried to follow some advice I was given. Let me know what you think.

The background (hopefully not too busy) They were solid colors so I thought it would not conflict with the foreground. Anyway, let me know what you think.

 

[cgipson1]

Which rules (guidelines) were you trying to follow?

 

[Ron Evers]

Unless you were on a boat, the background tells us the pic is not level/plumb. Yellow things to the sides are distracting as well you cut off fingers. The focus looks to me, to be falling a bit behind the man's eyes. Just some of the issues.

 

[The_Traveler]

ThinkRicky,

Generally a pleasant shot, in decent focus and well exposed.

[imo]
Cutting off the fingers hurts the shot a bit, IMO.
Although the background is plain color and slightly OOF, you could help it along by these steps to decrease the impact of the color and ensure the viewers' eye goes to the figure .
Selecting the figure and foreground and copying it to a top layer so.

Then, reselect and invert and copy what's left of the original layer to a new layer (now you have 3 with the man and foreground alone on the top, original minus man & foreground next, and original on the bottom) Then sharpen the top layer a bit, I would also suggest darkening the front arm and hand a bit so it's not the brightest thing in the picture.
Then darken and lens blur the middle layer. This will make the man stand out more. [/imo]

 

[KmH]

Check out the guidelines for avoiding dark eye sockets (raccoon eyes).

 

[thinkricky]

Which rules (guidelines) were you trying to follow?

Pretty general things I was told to work on my last post. Background/Framing/not cutting off limbs. DOF and... Focus in general.

I know the fingers were cut off but I didn't think it was as bad as cutting an arm off.

It was taken on a Inflatable "Moon Jump" type thing. Actually an inflatable moon jump in the form of a boat.

I started shooting in manual because I find it easier to learn how each points of exposure affects the shots.

 

[thinkricky]

ThinkRicky,

Generally a pleasant shot, in decent focus and well exposed.

Thanks. I'll look into the other stuff you suggested.

 

[thinkricky]

Check out the guidelines for avoiding dark eye sockets (raccoon eyes).

I'll look into it. But would the only solution be a flash?

 

[davesnothere11]

Check out the guidelines for avoiding dark eye sockets (raccoon eyes).

I'll look into it. But would the only solution be a flash?

No
A reflector might work too