[Wild Mark]

Im keen to know what people think of this portrait.

Thanks in advance

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[wildman]

I like it

[Canada_Rockies]

It's fascinating to view.

[bdery]

I like the mood, light and composition. I don't like how the wide lens makes the hand seem enormous. I would have preferred a flatter perspective given by a longer focal length. I'm rarely comfortable using something wider than 30mm for portraits.

[DeadJohn]

If you want to play around with processing here are some experiments that may or may not improve the photo.

The bottom quarter of the photo has no visible detail. Crop it a little below his hand.

If the man is your subject, try brightening his face and the book a little bit. The bright windows steal too much attention from him. A global shadow adjustment might work well enough; that will also brighten the cloth covering the table if you don't mind that.

[Wild Mark]

thanks guys

I will revise the image to reflect comments and see what we get.

I didn't crop because I wanted the 'negative' space to add mood and aid in focusing the viewer. Re, lighting, yes, a slight re-adjustment is needed and should enhance the image.

Yes, I used an extreme wide angle to get the portrait. I was torn between a classical portrait and 'environmental portrait' - I wanted to capture the context as much as the person themselves. Perhaps some distortion correction is warranted, although the large hand does provide some abstract value (triangle between the hand, head and candle with bible in the centre - analogy for the holy trinity ........ abstract).

[Winder]

Longer focal length is needed. The distortion makes his hand look as big as his head, which I assume is not actually the case. I like the scene and there is potential for a great environmental portrait, but definitely need a longer focal length lens and play with the composition to get the lighting just right. A little fill on the face and crush the shadows a little.

[smf]

You might consider cropping from the left to eliminate the stained glass window in the left background. That would both eliminate the blown-out area (which is one of the areas to which my eye keeps going) and allow more concentration on what I think are more important elements of the image.
Unfortunately, however, that suggestion further emphasizes the large hand.
I would have liked to see the result of a different choice of lens.
I admire the original image, despite my comments above.
Best wishes, and I hope to see more of your work.