Help. What's Wrong?

[Liew]

i feel the lack of chemistry in this image. something is missing but i don't know what, so i would appreciate if someone could point out the weakness of my image. at the mean time, share on why tell why i can't do what i should do and maybe it'll help solve the problem. hopefully, fellow CS members could help me solve my problem.

thank you.

 

[Clockunder]

Please include the EXIF info (aperture, shutter speed etc.) of your picture so that others can pin-point what can be improved on the technical side.

 

[Splutter]

I think the what's lacking most in the photo is emotion and interaction.

The 4 elements (inc statue) in the photo dun seem to link up. Furthermore, the guy on the far left distracts more than anything. Maybe you could have waited for a more "Kodak" moment rather than this frame with the woman taking a puff. Compositionally I would suggest a less straight "in the face" angle to add more dynamics.

 

[Clockunder]

For composition, just a few I can think of by a brief look :

1) there is no main focus. Is it the couple, the statue or the birds in the background?

2) the people and statue are a little to close to the left or right edge of the frame.

3) the foreground grass patch is probably superfluous and a distraction. As a result, the couple is not at an ideal position in the frame.
Considering the above, I'm wondering if a landscape frame would be better.

4) the birds are too out of focus. It has to do with insufficient DOF (without the EXIF, can't really pin point what changes can be made). You may need to stop-down your aperture to get more DOF if you want the birds to be in focus too.

5) Is shutter speed too slow to freeze the birds in the background?

5) One of the human subject is cut into half at the left edge and, as humans subjects are seeking attention of the viewer, it's distracting.

6) The statue colour is too similar to the sky colour and therefore has a tendency to blend into the sky and doesn't stand out, both in terms of colour and subject size.