Hi Sam,
There is one simple question that I ask myself whenever I see a photograph like this and it is simply… am I convinced by what I see? In this instance the answer is… not really.
'Why?' I hear you ask, what is wrong with this concept? The answer is nothing. In fact, a lot of filmmakers have made a lot of money out of this very idea. What is not working for me though is the execution.
Two things are not working for me in this image and the first is simply the background to the left. In the right of the frame the image is blue and then it awkwardly moves to black. Personally I would prefer to see a continuation of the blue all the way across the image.
The second element that is of concern is the hand. It is a lot brighter than the sticks that are rising from the mud and yet for such a bright subject there is no reflection from the wet surface in front of this image.These are all visual clues that tell the viewer that the hand is either fake, or it has been added in Photoshop.
My suggestion here is to go back and have another play with the idea. Look at how you can make it more convincing. The more convincing you can be, the more successful you will be as a photographer.
Cheers,
Anthony
Image Doctor's edited version
