>>2619020OP, I'm sorry you're being attacked here, but know that it's just one asshole who is having a rough time in his life.
Your photos aren't nearly as terrible as you're being lead to believe. None of them stand out as excellent, or hold up on their own, but as a set you took to document your day, to practice, you did fine. Your subjects are obvious, your exposures are fine, some of your moments are good. Even getting your fireworks in exposure for the colors can be tough on your first try, so you did well there. When the guy is saying you need more in your frame, he is right, if you want the photos to really communicate anything, you need to have a story or environment in the photo. So for instance, go to the back of the crowd, and set up so that you get the fireworks, AND all the people watching them. Or find a specific couple in the crowd that personifies the emotion you want to capture, and get them in the frame, etc. That way, it's a story and a document of the purpose and feeling of the day, rather than just pretty photos of sky flowers.
Your intent in the OP was particularly good thinking, and stuff like that is how you'll end up with your good stories. Unfortunately, the scene didn't set itself up in a way that the photo would have worked out, but your approach to it was good. Keep that up. As it stands, the orange cone is very distracting, the disorganized way the vets are standing, and the small number of them takes the wind out of the photo.
As for the popcorn guy, you generally want to keep the face of your subject in focus, rather than his hands.
When you have a lot of photos of the same thing (like you have a ton of photos of fireworks) it will work out better for you if you go through and select the very best three or four, and don't share the rest.
>>2619045 for instance, doesn't really have anything to show the viewer at all, whereas
>>2619033 is still pretty empty of meaning, but at least it's visually quite nice.
