I agree, and I'll add that because both your post and the poster emphasize that he was a wide receiver, it really jumps out at me that the photo of him you've chosen to use offers no such indication. I have no idea what he has asked for in this regard, so I'm speaking generally to the issue of the extent to which the poster does/does not represent his position on the team.
the photo of him was the one he specifically requested. it was a low resolution photo and i usually say no to those but he is a good friend of mine so i did it any way. if i were to enlarge it, it would have been too blurry for me to use. thanks for the critique though i appreciate it
Alex's poster follows a design format that's been known as "walls" for a number of years (short for wallpaper). Walls have been popular with young graphics enthusiasts that love sharing them, discussing techniques, collaborating on them, etc. There's been a number of dedicated sites for walls, many of them gone now.
Some of these kids have killer talent and build some really eye-catching images with innovative techniques they developed. Since they are mostly built as computer wallpapers, they are almost always low-res, built from sports images available on the internet. Some of them like to use images that show the subject doing nothing in particular that resembles the action in the sport they play.
Typically, the look utilizes lots of negative space, which obviously isn't for everyone. Many times a wall will use one small subject image, with a heavy accent on the background graphics treatment, anything from mild to wild. It doesn't really suit a printed poster use, but if done right, it could work well. One thing's for sure-- the kids who are into them are fanatics. Alex's version above looks cool to me, but I agree it could use a better subject image if the goal was to convey the player's position.
Thanks tom. Xavier specifically asked me to use this photo. Had I been able to get my hands on some action shots that definitely would have been the focal point. I sent him a couple versions and this is one he chose.
yeah and he's a good friend so i just did what he asked. probably poor titling by me calling it a "poster" when in fact you are right this is definitely a wallpaper design
