The Decorker
by TommyMoe21

Comment:
Can´t put my finger on it but I like the shot, very odd somehow in that I am not sure how this gimmick works and wether it is shot at a 90 degree angle or what is really up and down in the image but still without a sense of uncomfortable vertigo. Good job, 7 from me.

Summer to Fall
by jmritz

Comment:
Normally I strongly dislike selective desat but here it works very well. Well actually I am not sure it is a PS effect since the whole area around it is dark dark green but anyhow, the bottom line is that this shot works for me. Gave it a 7, good job.

scrubbing the toilet
by mycelium

Comment:
Ugh, I don´t know why but this somehow appeals to me, don´t know what that says about me :P

7 from me, the lighting really adds something extra to the shot.

Maturity - It's in your jeans
by AndrewTO

Comment:
Gave this a 7, mainly because I like the image quality, a little boost in contrast perhaps and this could work as a commercial or something of the kind, nice job.

On The Rocks
by Rikki

Comment:
Gave this a 7, mainly because of the mysterious lighting, works pretty well.

Hide & Seek Cheater
by Kita

Comment:
Greetings from the critique club :)

Wow, I can´t believe you are only 8, you certainly have a good eye for composition, not just for your age but in general.

On the technical side, you could improve this shot a whole lot by increasing the ISO to 400 or 800 and thereby getting a faster shutter speed as the shot is not sharp and I assume it´s because of the slow shutter speed and not poor focus. Also, I don´t know what lens you used so perhaps 5.6 was the biggest aperture you could have used but I would also have tried to open up the aperture more for a nicer backround blur while also letting you use a faster shutterspeed. For example, if I had taken this shot I would have tried to use a f2.8 aperture, iso 400 and a shutter of 1/80, thus keeping the same exposure, getting a better bakround blur and getting the boy in front sharper.

Anyway, enough of technical details. If this shot had been sharper, it would really have hit the spot with me. I REALLY like the composition, you definately nailed that part and I like the b/w conversion, good choice. I also like the "feel" of the shot, it´s very genuine and candid like the boy is in his own world and doesn´t have a clue you are photographing him.

I definately think you have quite a bit of talent, not just for an 8 year old but in general so I just added you to my favorites list and I look forward to see what you can pull out of your hat in the future. Just keep at what you are doing but also try and work on your technical side, like what shutter speed to use and such and you will be great.

Kind regards from Iceland, Larus.

Poker Sweetheart
by NekoNita

Comment:
Greetings from the critique club.

I haven´t seen this image before, didn´t vote but I probably would have given this a 4 to be honest. Technically it´s not bad but hardly good either. The lighting is a bit flat and the bland black backround isn´t helping, I personally would have liked this shot heaps more if the backround had some texture, like a wooden table or something like that. I notice you used an extremely small aperture for this shot and a long shutter speed. The shutter speed is pretty much irrelevant since the subject isn´t moving but I don´t really understand the aperture. Was it really neccesary to have everything inside the DOF? I seriously doubt it so I would suggest you keep to f5.6-11 to make the most out of the sharpness of your lens, at small apertures the lens starts to suffer sharpness due to diffraction and I think it shows in the shot. As a matter of fact, did you sharpen after resizing it, the shot looks a little bit too soft.

On the good side, the composition is decent, not really an interesting angle but nothing bad about it at all. The shot is pretty well exposed, seem to have a few blown out highlights though so softer lighting would be a key to reduce that. Also the shot is in focus, no question although I personally would have used a bigger aperture.

Certainly meets the challenge but you really have to keep in mind that most people just look at the image for a second and then go on to the next one and you really have to look for all five aces. I would suggest keeping it more simple next time, like having a hand hold all fice aces so that the point comes across right away, it should lead to a better rating.

Hope I wasn´t too negative, I wouldn´t give you such a hard time if I didn´t see potential so keep it up :D

Kind regards, Larus.

life after high school
by ursula

Comment:
A little too much dodge/burn (or whatever you used to darken the sky) for my taste. Also not really fond of the clipping of the smoke and lower part of the factory but you seem to know what you are doing so I just assume there is nothing to the right or bottom that is worth seeing. 7 from me.

slow down you're moving too fast
by JPR

Comment:
I like this shot, nice job on the b/w conversion, great tones in it and the composition and DOF is pretty good. Would have given this a good score but it just is so completely off topic that I ended up giving it a 3.

Unlock the Magic
by Nald

Comment:
Nice job with the lightpainting but the rest falls a little short, the wignetted lighting isn´t really appealing to me and the image could juse some more sharpness. Above average in the challenge, I gave it a 6.