Photos don’t have to only show pleasant things. It’s important that they leave an impression—like this picture on Zonerama, which we’ll be examining in today’s Editor’s Choice.

Creating impressions through photography is the main domain of professional photo reporters. Today we’ve chosen a photo by Heran Gogoi that will definitely leave an impression on you.

Praiseworthy Technical Quality

This photo has superb technical quality. Both in the shot, and in how the tonality was fine-tuned. The skin color is very nice, and it underscores the whole atmosphere even more.

The red color can be called a problem, as it’s too high-contrast. When there’s no other choice, we recommend desaturating reds (but do it globally rather than locally).

The Composition Could Be Improved

The composition is the major stumbling block in this photo. The photo is center-composed, but that’s not the problem. Often center composition doesn’t matter.

Much more distracting is the man behind the subject. He would be better placed a bit to the side, or left out of the picture completely. Just by standing more to the right, the photo would say more, because it would show more—it would show a different angle.

Getting back to the red colors in the picture—these are also very aggressive and distracting. Here again, a change of angle could help—it would be good to try an angle that covers the red objects and makes them less visible in the photo.

Summoning Emotions

This picture is powerful overall. It knows how to leave an impression and stir emotions—it can rile you up or interest you enough that you’ll start to wonder what’s behind the ritual and how to find out more.

What impression does this picture leave on you?