Javanese traditional dancing is all about expressions (body, face, hands, and eyes). I was invited to participate in this dance session where two dancers would be exercising a series of dancing steps. The practice stage floor was old wood in an open wall building with a roof. Fans were set to help move the humidity. Godox lights were set up and fixed to a spot providing overall light' directed to the stage where the dancers would practice. 

The dancers were wearing long traditional dresses and a crown, I knew all that would create a problem i.e., sweat well, I should say perspiration, ladies do not sweat. As mentioned above, the images are part of a series (to be continued).

One more point, there was no music,

the dancers were practicing the dance steps by memory. First time I saw that.

The reason for asking for a critique is that this image was utterly dismissed by 1X.com curators and I am curious why. The lowest percentages were given to "composition" and "lighting" and I wonder if 1X.com could elaborate on that.

Thank you

Hello Francisco

Thank you for sharing this beautiful photo of a Javanese dancer with us, but I am sorry that it was not selected for publication. Very low scores seem to be rather common recently, and since we are critics we are not able to explain the decisions of the curators. In my view your image is worthy of publication, but wait and see if any of my colleagues have suggestions for improvement.

Good light, Elizabeth

Francisco,

Thanks for submitting this interesting along with the great back story.

I'm not really a portrait photographer so I leave the bulk of the comments to others more qualified.

I do like the composition and lighting. The one thing that I do notice is the there is a lack of sharpness in the image; the focus seems very soft. Looking at the images in your portfolio I don't see that as a problem in the other photos. Perhaps it was the difficult lighting conditions. 

Just an observation,

Best wishes,

Mike S. - Senior Critic

Hello Elizabeth, thank you for taking the time to critique my image. I really appreciate your comments.

Best regards,

Francisco

Thank you Mike for your time and for the critique on my image. I realized the soft focus but, I believe it worked well toward enhancing or, assisting in setting up the mood. 

Best regards

Francisco

Hello, Francisco

Welcome to our forum and thank you for sharing your image with us. You have provided us with good background information about the image and I am curious whether you have given the same information when you have submitted the image to curation without including the question about the reasons for rejection?

Let's continue guessing. I agree that there is lack of sharpness on the main parts of the face and some softness in the edges. This is unfortunately a big disadvantage for your image. furthermore, I think the background looks so dark that it gives no information about the surrounding and the little reflection below the dancer is too little to create enough depth of field to separate the dancer from the background. It looks flat and gives the impression that this was not as it was shot but darkened later in Photoshop. These are my guesses. I hope I could be helpful. I wish you good light. Çiçek Kıral Senior Critic.

Thank you for your comment, I appreciate it. Yes, I gave a full description of the image and details of the acquisition. The shooting took place on a stage. The background was a stage black backdrop lit by a set of Glodox lights which in my opinion did not contribute much to the image definition. I agree with you, there is a softness to the image, however, that did not bother me. In my mind, it helped establish the mood and the moment Zian was to start her routine. Correct, I darkened the background on areas where it clashed with the image i.e., pulling the attention from the dancer.

The main reasons that the image was rejected were and I quote: composition and light

I really appreciate your time and opinion.