Wow! This is a fantastic photograph. Great work.
I don’t the waist crop is awkward at all. Depending on the position, it may look awkward, but generally you’ll crop where it makes most sense and based on your creative preferences. Generally try to avoid cropping at the neck, wrists, elbows and ankles, but there are even expectations to those rules.
The composition of the shot is fantastic. My only concern with the shot is the little object in the upper right hand corner of the frame. It’s unidentifiable and distracting in my opinion. I would consider cropping the image a little higher, or using Photoshop to erase that object.
The rest of the composition is fantastic. The upside down perspective is unique and his hands on his face is a very unique and beautiful pose. His fingers intertwined while covering his face and the triangular shapes his arms create help give this image a very creative edge.
In fact, I would have liked to see another image focusing on more of a close up of his hands and arms as well. If you’ve never tried to put two images side by side you should try that for one of your next assignments.
To see an example go to:
http://juliakozlov.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/aaa48.jpg?w=300&h=224
Often images that are related to one another look great in this format (with slightly different compositions, angles or coloring).
Great work overall. Love it!