Photo Analysis: Lisbon Street

What works well:

The leading lines are pretty great. The tram tracks are doing exactly what they should, pulling you straight into the photo and guiding your eye directly toward the man.
The low viewpoint really helps here, it exaggerates the rails and makes the leading lines feel even stronger and more intentional.
Subject separation works well too, the man’s dark clothing against the generally lighter street and background makes him stand out well.
The buildings on both sides create a strong tunnel effect, creating a nice sense depth and giving the photo a clear direction (along with the leading lines).
Repeating things like red signs, balconies, lanterns etc. along the street, help create depth as well.

What could be better:

Our subject, the man, is quite centred, which works of course, but a slight offset could have added more visual tension and ‘‘excitement’’ (however that might have come at the loss of the really strong ‘direct’ leading lines effect from the tracks).
The blown-out background weakens the tunnel/depth effect a bit, all the lines lead you there, but the detail disappears (it sort of creates a blown out wall). That being said, the brightest area being in the distance does actually pull the eye away, which DOES help with depth. → Optimal would be light in the distance but not blown out.
The foreground blur helps keep attention on the subject, but it also reduces the ‘‘fell’’ of texture at the very there.

What works well:

The light is soft and fairly neutral, which works with the street scene. It doesn’t feel harsh or overly dramatic, and that keeps everything grounded and realistic.
The subtle shimmer on the tram tracks is a really nice detail. It catches just enough light to make the rails pop which again accentuates the leading effect.
The overall atmosphere feels calm, just a quiet moment in the city where nothing special is happening (and that is kind of the point I guess).

What could be better:

As mentioned before, the background further down the street is quite blown out.
Because the brightest area sits (close to) right behind our subject, it competes a little with him instead of supporting him.
The light overall is pleasant but very safe, adding a bit more contrast between foreground and background could give the scene a little more punch.