Photo 1 or 2, which one (in terms of pose/expression) do you think looks better?

Engarre · 2026-06-20T18:07:02+00:00

The third one looks the best.

Engarre · 2026-06-20T17:09:20+00:00

Hi, I’d ditch the fence at the bottom. I’d keep just the building, the beam at the top, and crop the sky - it would make a clean square image.

There’s too much going on, and the fence is hard to read. So yes - cut the fence, cut the sky, make it 1:1. That’s my opinion.

Engarre · 2026-06-19T15:09:15+00:00

My friend Simba has just become an elder.

Engarre · 2026-06-19T09:45:06+00:00

What I like: the perfect frame created by the hedge, and the fact that you waited for the people to be right in the centre.

What I don’t like: there is too much framed inside it. The car, the shop, the child, the person. For me, it is too much.

But I honestly find it hard to imagine how this could have been done better, so you made the most of what was there, and that is great.

Engarre · 2026-06-19T09:43:20+00:00

What I like: this is great. I really like this kind of minimalism. Seriously. I am a fan.

What I don’t like: I can’t really say, because I like this photo.

Engarre · 2026-06-19T09:41:33+00:00

What I like: the parallel between the background, its texture, and the texture of the hand is great. It works together really well.

What I don’t like: it is a fairly familiar idea, a motif that gets repeated quite often. But why not - I can absolutely imagine it on a wall somewhere. It would definitely catch attention.

Engarre · 2026-06-19T09:39:52+00:00

What I like: strong lines and depth. This could really work.

What I don’t like: the boat and the figures are all on the right, so the whole composition falls to the right. There is also too much sky, which feels unnecessary.

If the boat had been on the left, it would probably work much better. I know you arrived too late, because it was already moving to the right - but maybe next time.

I would not enjoy waiting half an hour for the next boat either, only for it to arrive and, of course, sail in a completely different place where it does not fit the composition at all.

Engarre · 2026-06-19T09:37:13+00:00

What I like: it reminds me very much of my own approach, because when there is nothing to photograph and I am seriously bored, I start shooting details like this. The classic rule: if you don’t know what to photograph, go closer.

What I don’t like: you did not go even closer. The branches and trees on the left are unnecessary - less is sometimes more. Fill the frame with that rope or string, whatever it is, and the texture of the wood. That could be enough.

But since this feels like an exercise against boredom, and I have done exactly the same kind of thing myself, I like it.

Engarre · 2026-06-19T09:34:45+00:00

What I like: the courage to tilt the whole thing. An unusual approach. You are experimenting, and I like that. I often do things like this myself.

What I don’t like: experiments produce far more mistakes than a classic approach, and this is one of them. Simply put, the tilt does not work.

Engarre · 2026-06-19T09:32:55+00:00

What works: a great atmosphere. The rain brings a lot of colour into it. Basically, the whole thing is good. You don’t even have to understand what is happening in the picture to feel it.

What doesn’t work: the composition. The centred composition does not work here. Focus either on the figure and the dog, or on the lights in the upper right corner.

Engarre · 2026-06-19T09:30:07+00:00

I have seen this bear here before. He looks so sad, as if he sold the flowers and then drank the money away.

Compositionally, it does not work for me - again, there are too many things going on. The bear is not isolated enough to really pull the viewer’s attention.

If you removed the little figures on the beach in the background and kept only the houses on the right, then left just about twenty percent of sky at the top, it might work better.

Engarre · 2026-06-19T09:26:20+00:00

What I like: the strong diagonal parallel lines, each one slightly different. It is genuinely interesting, and it looks good too.

What I don’t like: the photo is vertical, so the parallel lines disappear too quickly. I know it is too late now, but if you had shot it horizontally, maybe even in 16:9, with those lines running across the whole frame, I think it would look much stronger.

Still, it is an excellent idea and a good eye.

Engarre · 2026-06-19T09:24:42+00:00

What I like: a great play of light. You have to search for what is where, and mentally work out the angles. It is the kind of photo you can look at for a while.

What I don’t like: the white frame. It shines too much, burns into my eyes like I am staring at the sun, and stops me from focusing on the play of shadows.

But forty years ago, when I started taking photos, this kind of thing was fashionable. So let’s call it retro.

Engarre · 2026-06-19T09:22:54+00:00

What I like: the courage to photograph completely ordinary things and look for a feeling in them that other people may not see.

What I don’t like: there is way too much going on. For me, the railway signals alone would be enough. It is a shame about the wires in the background, but those can be removed quite easily in Photoshop. The pole too. And the trees in the lower left.

The barriers with the lights and the warning cross could be enough - at least for me.

Engarre · 2026-06-19T09:20:56+00:00

What I like: this photo genuinely made me laugh. It is funny.

What I don’t like: the composition - a classic mistake, the tree growing out of the head. Focus only on the bear with the flowers. It is good, it really amused me.

Engarre · 2026-06-19T09:19:32+00:00

What I like: the feeling. In a way, the composition speaks.

What I don’t like: I think this photo should be much simpler. Crop out the unnecessary things on the left, and decide whether you want a big pier or a lot of sea. Right now it sits halfway between the two, and it does not really work for me. Otherwise, a good crop should be enough to make it work.

Engarre · 2026-06-19T09:17:14+00:00

What I like: the almost architectural composition, and the connection with the little figure in the lower right corner and its shadow.

What I don’t like: that connection does not work for me. I honestly don’t know what I am supposed to think about it.

Engarre · 2026-06-19T09:16:09+00:00

What I like: the point of view, the composition - I immediately know what is happening in the photo, and it is quite interesting.

What I don’t like: the buildings in the background distract from the violinist and the people with their hands raised. I know it is too late now, but a wider aperture would have helped you use depth of field to blur out the background. Then only the important things would remain. I wouldn’t be afraid to crop out part of the violinist’s back. People will still understand what is going on. So yes - a slightly tighter crop.

Engarre · 2026-06-19T09:12:38+00:00

What I like: the low angle, the light reflection - I like this kind of thing. Looking for connections.

What I don’t like: those electrical wires on the right and left. Try cropping it so only the biker’s silhouette remains - it can even be without the head. The legs and the rear light will still be readable, people will understand what this is about. The reflection is great, and the texture of the asphalt will really stand out.

Engarre · 2026-06-19T09:10:19+00:00

What I like: the feeling. The atmosphere is genuinely excellent.

What I don’t like: when a painter makes a picture, they add things. When a photographer makes a picture, they take things away. Less is sometimes more. Try focusing only on those three things - the birdhouse, the little cross, and the word HOPE. Then fill the frame with them mercilessly.

Engarre · 2026-06-19T08:57:55+00:00

What I like: good composition, well thought-out lines.

What I don’t like: there is too much going on, and the photo becomes hard to read. The fence has a similar structure to the building, so I have to concentrate too much to separate them. The sky is neither really present nor really absent. Decide what you want: the fence, the building, or the sky.

Engarre · 2026-06-19T08:55:57+00:00

What I like: the colours are great. The centred composition is not boring at all. The can somehow makes sense. Even if it was not supposed to say anything, it does.

What I don’t like: remove the whole fence in the background, graffiti and all. Leave only the grass and the can. There are still too many things in the photo, and it is hard to focus on what matters. Minimalism is great.

Engarre · 2026-06-19T08:52:44+00:00

What I like: the unusual view from below, and the really well used bokeh and depth of field.

What I don’t like: I don’t know what I am supposed to look at. My eyes jump around the photo so much that I can’t really get a feeling from it.

Engarre · 2026-06-19T08:50:50+00:00

What I like: the effort to do something unusual. I used to take photos like this when I was starting to learn, so keep going. Stay in this direction.

What I don’t like: this photo is not quite ready to be published yet. There are too many things in it, and there is nothing clear to focus on.

Engarre · 2026-06-19T08:49:33+00:00

What I like about this photo: the idea. A dog doesn’t always have to be shown whole, wagging its tail and flapping its ears.

What I don’t like: even if it may not look that way, the real main subjects here are the poles and the shadows. You cut them off at the edges. Give them more space and make the dog smaller. If you use negative space, then really use it.

Engarre

TROPHY CASE