my son at the light of day
by moore8

Comment by gerdagrice:
I love the colours and the silhouettes. However, I would clone out the distracting bit of tree silhouette at the top left. Also, I think this composition would have been even stronger if your son weren't quite so central in the frame. Give the position of the tree at the right +, it seems, another tree just beyond the edge of your frame at the left, though, that might welll have been just about impossible to do. I love the hat!

A child is worthliving for.
by moore8

Comment by Falc:
OK - pets, kids and toys, unless they are especially good then they tend to look like snaps. This has very obious 'snap' giveaways - the dark shadow from onboard flash, the taps half in frame and half out of frame, the sloping and very plain background.

Now, for an example of how good kid photos can be go and check out some of Jacko's images. He used directional light either from an off camera flash or from a natural light source (window). He makes sure that the background and setting do not distract from the baby. Well worth studying some of these techniques.