Rylor and Gilligan
by wtheisenhalsey

Comment:
Man they look like they are having fun... Wouldn't want to get in their way.

Probably not doing so well as it is not really a portrait.
Here is the wikipedia definition of a portrait:
A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this reason, in photography a portrait is generally not a snapshot, but a composed image of a person in a still position. A portrait often shows a person looking directly at the painter or photographer, in order to most successfully engage the subject with the viewer.

Tugz
by mike_d

Comment:
Nice looking dog but not a photo that will do well here I think.
The crop is a little tight.
Lighting is uneven, bright at the back and so dark at the end of the nose, I can't see any details theer. the bit of carpet also doesn't help the image.

Pepper at Rest
by mcgoffinet

Comment:
On camera flash doesn't help this image.
Try to ues a more imaginitive lighting setup. Either try to get your flash off your camera, or use window lighting or a reflector to make things more interesting and softer.

Yawning or snarling!
by Pompouspete

Comment:
On camera flash doesn't help this image.
Try to ues a more imaginitive lighting setup. Either try to get your flash off your camera, or use window lighting or a reflector to make things more interesting and softer.

Woids
by joshnf

Comment:
Wide angle is not good for a portrait. All you can see is nose.
The backgroud doesn't help the image and the flair hides one of the eyes. Focus doesn't seem to be on the eyes either.
However you get an extra point for getting down to the same level as your pet.

Ella loving the New Fence
by dagaleaa

Comment:
Sorry but this comes across as a snapshot.
The backgrounsd doesn't help the image, the shadows on the face and slightly out of focus also don't help. Wide angle should not be used close up in a portrait, and standing above and looking down on the dog also help portray a snapshot. Get down to eye level with your dog.

Daisy: Rescue dog, happier than she looks!
by wetland

Comment:
On camera flash doesn't help this image.
Try to ues a more imaginitive lighting setup. Either try to get your flash off your camera, or use window lighting or a reflector to make things more interesting and softer.
I can see you have gone to some effort to create a nice photo here and respect your effort to setup a plain background. I think Black is not a good colour as it creates a vacume that draws attention more than it should. Better is a plain colour or grey.
Crop is good and I like that you have gotr down to eye level with your pet to take the photo.

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie
by leona

Comment:
This is a little too close for an attractive portrait. Also a little attention to the background could have helped this (A little). the bright colours against the brown dog draw my attention completely away from the subject.

Lovely Little Loca
by jumboshrimp

Comment:
On camera flash doesn't help this image.
Try to ues a more imaginitive lighting setup. Either try to get your flash off your camera, or use window lighting or a reflector to make things more interesting and softer.

The background is a bit busy detracting from the face.
Your white balance is a little off. Either set this in the camera to flash (When using the flash) or adjust it in a photo editing program afterwards to get rid of that blue tint.
I would increase the exposure a little and add a little more contrast and you could make quite a nice photo out of this

Gladys
by choltmeier

Comment:
Hmmm, it is a portrait, and the lighting doesn't look to bad, howwever the closeup wideangle nature of the photo is not exactly creating an attractive photo of your loved one.
A little more attention to the background and cropping would have helped your score too.