So i'd like some serious tips, critiques and advice on this one image.

Suuuper sick, only thing I didn't like was that bar of white going down his mask, but that would probably be really hard to get rid of because of the flash

Lol ignore that part about getting rid of it, just looked at the picture again

I don't know much about photography so I can't really say anything about lighting or any of that, but one thing that stood out to me right away was how obvious it was that the subject is in front of a background. I don't really know how you would fix that, but it just struck me as weird because it really made the subject clash with the background; you wouldn't expect that subject to be in a studio in reality. This subject might have been better shot outside (I realize that may not have been possible for you) or against a darker background. It's just a little too obvious that it's set up.

^^ I would like to be rid of it but not positive how. Photographers, would a larger space between the subject and the light box cut down on the reflectiveness? The soft box was about 6feet from the subject.

If you're trying to get rid of the reflection on the mask, then a larger size light source would help. Maybe play with it's position while trying to to alter the lighting too much could help too. Although completely eliminating the reflection might not help, maybe just dull it down a bit. I kinda like it. At least it's between his eyes.

Did you do some sort of rectangular vignette around the edges or something? If so, I would take it off because I don't like it, but you do whatever you like. Maybe that's just part of the compressed version thats embedded.

And about the colors. Not saying they're bad, but whatever process you did to desaturate/make them a bit more neutral almost looks odd. Like the flame isn't as orange or yellow as I'd expect it to be, and his hands seem a bit faint.  The jacket and green part around the mask look fine though. I just think it's hard to get that color effect without making it look strange. I'm on a 13in macbook pro, uncalibrated, so that may be an issue. But, the colors don't even look bad. I just see people slide the saturation bar down too much (which you didn't do here) in colorful scenes and it looks bad.

And lastly, why does he have a glow? I'm not sure if it's from a rimlight or not, but near his right shoulder you can see it. I think that's usually produced when people try to adjust highlights and shadows to get mroe dynamic range (I don't do too much digital editing, but I'm trying to learn more about it) and detail. Not saying that's a bad process to do, I thinks it's quite necessary. But if it's a result of that or dodging I'd try to eliminate the glow. And in the huge version why does the hood have a weird outline, as well as his hand and fingers that are holding the lighter. Maybe remove the bic label too...

On a positive note, I think you choose the right background. I like the texture, and the one side that's shadowed makes for a nice effect. Overall, everything above is nitpicks and it's a nice looking shot. Inspired by the revolutions in the east? I think the crop and field of view is fine, maybe an inch more space near his left elbow and right hand, but it's fine as is really. Clothes and props work fine for me. The bandaid or whatever is on one of his right fingers is a nice touch.

Very dark. I understand that its done intentionally to add tone and emotion to the photo, but I think it could have been accomplished effectively without detracting from the photo. Detail is lost down by his hands/on the shadowed side of the body.

Larger size light source? care to elaborate.

Softbox maybe?

twas shot with a 24"x36" softbox

Larger light source meaning bigger softbox or whatever type of modifier you're using. Maybe a better term is larger apparent light source. Maybe a polarzier would help too? I kinda like the non lit side, especially if the flame gets into that side. So I would say let that flash keep malfunctioning, but if you wanna light it I have no clue what type of modifier to use. I know grids focus the light, but that's about it. You probably know more about lighting than me.

You were the model? That sounds annoying as hell to do, but good job of doing it.

i'll look into that for sure.

Next time get a telephoto and a background further away. Compression effect is needed. Look around for an old 135mm m42 lens like a zeiss or something. They'd be cheap and MF isn't bad for straight portraiture too.

My god are these suggestions serious..? Bigger light? Using a polarizer?

A bigger light source, will only give you a bigger 'white bar.' The white bar is caused by a reflection of the soft box, which I am hoping you understand. So how would making the reflected object bigger, help minimize the reflection? The best thing for you to do would be to move the box further away, thus giving you a skinnier stripe while keeping close to the same light (pending power adjustment) or to move the light higher or lower so that the curve of his mask doesn't reflect back at the camera. But this will give you way different light.

Im not even going to address the suggesting to use a polarizer.

Why is his hand so bright compared to the bottle and the face? Normally I might question why there is no light in his eyes, but I would let it slide if you could get that light off his mask, which I feel will lead to the sparkles. I know someone already mentioned it, but get some sort of reflector and place in low and left, so light bounces back onto the bottle and the jacket. Might even consider shoulder height and left bouncing downwards. Nice touch though on the tape on the finger. Its kind of stupid how such small details can tie in the image.

Id say thats it as far as shooting goes, as far as processing, bring back those oranges that you got rid of. Im not sure why you did it, but it makes determining whats going on in the image tough. I had to really look to see what was going on. The background doesn't bother me as much as the rest of the minions, but only because of the 'white bar' on his mask. Simply because the two represent that this was a studio shot, so I almost get the feeling that you weren't trying to hide that fact. So I suggest, once you learn how to fix the bar, take the shoot on location. Don't be lazy and photoshop it in. Oh and lastly, get rid of that sears portrait vignette.

Oh and for future reference, I don't ever recommend mentioning that any of your work is a fluke. If you find out by accident that some lighting scenario works better because a strobe did not fire. Simply walk over, turn the flash off, and pretend like you knew it would be better that way. Do not openly admit that a shot turned out better, because the scenario you set up, didn't come true.

^almost didn't realize who you were

some minor things, it looks like you're getting a glow around the edge of the darks on the subject's jacket on the left side. To me this indicates the use of a) too much increase in fill light in post b) the use of detail enhancement filter c) poor curve manipulation. In other words, the left side looks like it was blocking up a bit and you tried to fix it in post. My suggestion would be to get some kind of fill in there, either with a white card to bounce the rightside flash off of or a second light source on low power, relatively close to keep it soft so that you don't lose that nice cast from the main light source.

A main point of discussion seems to be the reflection, and, yeah, its a bit distracting but I wouldn't want it gone altogether because it lends a great deal of form to the mask and like the clean sheen that the plastic gives off. Moving the light source back a bit (I think the one formerly known as despite. mentioned it) would narrow the strip but would also change the nature of the light, causing it to cast a bit more (which might be fortuitous in the end because it would allow you to get a fill flash in on the left without changing the dynamic of the light too much). And, the most obvious solution to the reflection if you really want to be rid of it, is to simply play with the angles of the mask and the light so it bounces off into space instead of back into the lens (which might be tricky considering the curve of the mask).

And, as far as the concerns voiced by others about the background, it doesn't bother me at all. I think it lends the image an emblematic quality, not merely a scene but a kind of message drive iconography.

Lose the vignetting, you're clearly working in a realm where you're above such shenanigans.

I think its an effective shot overall, I like it, and think it's definitely worth pursuing it further. Thanks for sharin

oh, and as far as propping goes, you've done a pretty good job. My only recommendations would be to play with the lines of the scarf a bit as it looks a little chunky and also like it's emerging out of the gas mask canister in a confusing way. Also, the way the zipper pull pokes out is a touch awkward, might wanna play with it (I know this sort of shit might seem pretty minor but when you really start to control [b]every[/b] aspect of your image (lighting, posing, propping, styling, depth of field, exposure, framing, etc.) is when your results achieve that professional polish.

^definitely looks more natural but overall still a little dark and using a model will certainly solve a lot of your woes