I don't know if it's the angles of the characters or what, but something seems off here. I need a fresh pair of eyes to help.

I think that most of the issues are in the lighting .... right now her face is shadowed, which means that the brightest and therefor most interesting thing in the image is the guys neck and that image on the wall over there. SOmehow I don't think thats what you had in mind .... The lighting as it lies on the bkg is fine, very dramtic with nice lights and darks. I think that if you put a couple dim lights above and behind the camera you can bring this image out a little better. You might want to experiment wih a light right in front of her face, but that could be tricky.

It's a fine render, too, I like the scene. I can't wait to see it with the better lighting, it will really come alive then!

FlyByNight

Okay, I can give that a try. Lighting is always something that I've considered tricky.

The poses are great. So are the background, clothes and textures. The sky could be have more drama maybe. And you might want to add a tiny reflection to that sword. Like a little cross/star-type reflection. You could do that in post. I'd look at the lighting too. And I'd raise her clenched fist so it's a bit more visible. It's a dramatic gesture, but doesn't catch the eye at first, since it kind of blends into her arm. But... if it was my scene... what I'd try is a really wild camera angle. Like from somewhere down near his right hand, with a wide lens, like 15mm, so she's really jumping down onto him. Or anyway, somewhere from below. Thing is, you'd lose a lot of the guy's pose, but it could be a nice alternative. But that's me. I like dramatic stuff. mac

Probably not what you are going for, but some blurring might help to imply action. Just a thought.

I like this very much but... Is it me or does it look like two adults fighting it out in a miniature temple...like on a kiddie scale?

I agree with KyReb, the set is too small. If these people stand up, they wouldn't be able to walk through those arches. They'd have to bend over and squeeze through. I would suggest moving the structure back and scaling it larger. Other than that, there's something going on in this image, not just someone standing staring into the camera. There's some sort of story happening here. Melanie

On the same note, there really isn't enough room for this type of action to be happening in such a small space. Melanie

Maclean's point about the kickers left arm position is well taken and while we're on the subject of her pose, the upper body is almost perfectly vertical. I would prefer her body to lean back a little, maybe 15-25 degrees or so. To me that would convey the action/dynamics/motion of a flying kick better than the almost static upright position. The kickees pose is quite well done by the way. All the other comments about the lighting and scale are also well taken... My 2 cents Walter

Ditto, the lighting as per Lyrra. Ditto, the left arm as per maclean. Try the "squint" test or blur the picture, something to reduce the detail down to the basic levels of value and see where your eye goes. The left fist values are so close to the arm as the arm is close in value to the wall behind that it all melts together. There's no rule that every picture should have eye popping contrast. It's all about Your choice and there's a lot of looks to choose from. I'm working on a very similar composition at this very moment, although our content is Very different. So your question has been very "in my face" for the past few days. Right or wrong, I've chosen to focus most of my lighting to the front on the attacker and to get the camera as low as possible. But that's just how I'm solving my problem. Oh, and I don't believe that the set is too small but it is competing with your central characters for focus. I'll post my endevour soon. Good luck with yours.

The two fingers on his right hand are identical in position. Might space them apart or something. I agree with the above and it is a nice scene. Love the building. Shadows will obviously change with the lighting but if they were stronger and softer maybe that would be interesting. Great job!

I like the scene but I also get that 'something not right' niggle. I don't think the set is too small, you can see the woman's shadow on a pillar and that gives an idea of the scale. After looking at this for a while I noticed that the background sky gets brighter as you go down- implying the sun is setting/rising, but the shadows imply the sun is behind us. Maybe, subconciously, that's what was bugging me.

About the only comment I can add is to tweak with the camera angle. Try a slight roll, or drop it a bit, and angle it upwards. The poses look good, but with that angle, it looks like they are posing.... I went and made a sample pic to explain what I mean.

Oops. Forgot nudity on the first one. Here's another example.

One last example, and I'll shut up :)

Wow! Thanks everyone. All this feedback will prove helpful. I'm going to make some notes based on suggestions and see what will work. I'll come back with a revision and see what you all think.