There's A Place
by chloeclogs

Comment:
Hey there from the Critique Club

Camera Work/Technical: Everything looks pretty well focused here, but there are some very strong textures in this one that you could have brought out even more. With a little more contrast, this one could have been even more appealing.

Lighting: I like the lighting. Everything looks very evenly lit, but just a touch flat. Upping the contrast would also remedy that look.

Composition/Content: Very well composed. I have to disagree with the comment by docvorhies. I think that there is tones of interest there, and getting closer would add to that even more.

My Opinion: Fine job meeting the challenge. With some slight adjustments, this one would have scored even better.

Eric

Yellow Submarine
by Joy Moore

Comment:
Hey there from the Critique Club

Camera Work/Technical: Great focus, but there is a yellow hue beyond just the yellow of the submarine. It is more strong at the bottom of the frame.

Lighting: You did a nice job with exposure control here, but the shadow at the bottom left of the frame is a bit distracting.

Composition/Content: I think the cropping is just a bit too tight. You need just a little more space between the submarine and the left side of the frame.

My Opinion: Wonderful job meeting the challenge. Coming across a yellow submarine was a great find. With a few slight adjustments, this one surely would have pulled a much better score.

Eric

High Five for Árni
by Majanka

Comment:
Hey there from the Critique Club

Camera Work/Technical: No complaints from a technical standpoint, but this one has become as overdone as wine glass refraction. I think the voters voiced the same feeling with their votes. I do like that you did it in a more creative manner, isolating the hand rather than shooting the entire body.

Lighting: Your lighting is near-flawless. The highlights and shadows work very well to give this image a great texture.

Composition/Content: The centered composition also works very well for this image.

My Opinion: I believe that the image quality is much better than 5.46, but the voters tire of seeing the same idea shot over and again. If this were the first of its type, it would have been a 6+ image, maybe even a 7.

Eric

Road Map
by IreneM

Comment:
Hey there from the Critique Club

Congrats on a well-deserved top 30 finish!

Camera Work/Technical: Simply amazing! The only thing this image suffered from was being in a free-study type of challenge with so many strong images. Your detail and crisp focus are terrific.

Lighting: Again, wonderful. I especially like the brightness along the bottom of the leaf. The works very well to add some pop to the subject, as well as isolate it even better from the background.

Composition/Content: No complaints. The stem works well to lead the viewer's eye into the leaf. then the veins take over, taking the eye throughout the frame.

My Opinion: This is a terrific image. In a more specific type of challenge, this would be a top 10 finisher. Your score only suffered because of so many top notch entries.

Eric

Otherside
by sephick911

Comment:
Hey there from the Critique Club

Camera Work/Technical: I agree with you on the focus. Self-portraits are often very difficult, especially in low light conditions. The focus you captured is very nice for a 10 second exposure, but just in the wrong spot. You captured great detail in the hair, as well as the door texture.

Lighting: Very nice and very moody. Great exposure control with the lighting that you chose.

Composition/Content: You did a very nice job with creating a composition that leads the viewer's eye into the frame. The door texture serve as great leading lines toward the brightness and then the face. I think cropping a bit more off the top would have helped this one out.

My Opinion: I think some selective desaturation or toying with the toning of the image would have helped you out with the voters. This one would have worked nicely with a grungy type of feel. I think that this one had more scoring potential with just some slight tweaks.

Eric

Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey
by Revecca

Comment:
Hey there from the Critique Club

Wow, first challenge, and you did this well. I think that means I will finish one spot lower in upcoming challenges. I looked through you photosite work, and you have a terrific eye!

Camera Work/Technical: Wonderful, crisp focus with great depth of field use. You also did a very nice job with the BW conversion, not loosing any detail, as well as keeping a terrific tonal range.

Lighting: The lighting is just a touch harsh. The highlights on your brother's head are very nice, but you lost a little bit of detail on the monkey's nose.

Composition/Content: Great setup and I really, really like the tight crop. My only change would be to include his fingers at the bottom of the frame. Cropping them off tight there looks accidental, and it provides a leading line that takes the viewer's eye right out of the image. Great expressions on both the monkey's and your brother's face.

My Opinion: Very nice job meeting the challenge, and a great first entry. 5.86 and a top 100 are good places to start. I look forward to many, many more.

Eric

I Saw Her Standing There
by Judi

Comment:
Hey there from the Critique Club

Camera Work/Technical: Excellent! Great focus and a really nice IR toned capture. I would like to see a touch more contrast and maybe some selective coloring with the panties, hair, and nipples. I think with just a touch of color in those areas, this image would have gained some amazing pop.

Lighting: The lighting is just a little harsh, but you did a fantastic job no losing detail in the bright areas. The highlight on your head competes with your face and body's features for the eye's attention.

Composition/Content: Wonderful composition and great content. You positioning and cropping work well together to make an image that allows the viewer to get into and become a part of. The disappearing shadow also does a fantastic job and pulling the eye through the frame.

My Opinion: I usually like nudes, and this is no exception. You do a fantastic job capturing yourself, and this is my favorite of you so far. I think with a touch more contrast and a little selective coloring using layer masks, this would have been a top 10. Great work, and I look forward to seeing the idea you are working on for the future.

Eric

I hate photo shoots...
by Llambo

Comment:
Hey there from the Critique Club

Camera Work/Technical: Very nice focus and great depth of field use. The crisp focus on the dog's eye is very right for this photograph.

Lighting: Your lighting is just a touch too harsh. The overexposed area on his left cheek is significantly distracting and surely detracted from the overall score. In an advanced editing challenge, I try to expose for the highlights, as burning out light areas that I want dark is fairly easy to do. I do find the side lighting very appealing and the shadows your created very interesting.

Composition/Content: Great doggie expression, and the dog's position leads the viewer deep into the photograph. I agree with ShutterPug in that I would also like to see the rest of the dog's snoot and paw. With this crop, everything feels tense and crowded.

My Opinion: I think you met the challenge very well and very creatively. With some slight lighting and cropping changes, this one surely would have scored a good deal higher.

Eric

Hotter Than Heyyyyy...No...Wait!!!!
by 777STAN

Comment:
Hey there from the Critique Club

Camera Work/Technical: While very creative, it is very difficult to determine if anything is in focus or not. The red coloring also suggests that the white balance is off.

Lighting: Very interesting and, again, very creative. As mentioned in an earlier comment, it just looks washed out and overexposed.

Composition/Content: Nice composition, but I would like to see the rest of the chin. Chopping it off there looks more accidental than intentional. I do like your chosen angle for shooting this one. It provides the image with a very nice flow.

My Opinion: While meeting the challenge well, it appears that this is not what the voters were looking for. Crisp focus is a must to do well in challenges such as this. I do like the creativity, as well as the interesting composition, but I think this one scored pretty close to its potential as it is.

Eric

\"Little Child\" from With the Beatles
by _eug

Comment:
Hey there from the Critique Club

Camera Work/Technical: Great focus on the child's face, while using a nice depth of field to blur the distant portions of its face and hand.

Lighting: While everything is fairly evenly lit, it is also a bit flat. That probably came from using Hue/Sat to convert this one to BW. I am not very familiar with Elements, but if there is a Channel Mixer, give that a shot. While everyone has their own settings, 45%/32%/30% works pretty well for skin tones. If PSE doesn't have this, try some slight curves adjustments to bring some contrast back into the image.

Composition/Content: Great composition. This provides the eye a nice plane to flow across.

My Opinion: While not a Beatles fan (not familiar with their titles), I believe you met the challenge well. With some lighting adjustments, this one would have scored a bit better.

Eric