Sundae's On The Phone (to Monday) - Apple records.
by SciPug

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club! :)

This is certainly a creative take on the challenge description...the lighting is interesting and pleasing (especially on the grass). However I do think it probably suffered some DNMC votes because of the change from "Sunday" to "Sundae." The literal-minded voters typically expect purity over puns.

The image itself, challenge aside, suffers from a couple of technical issues. First, the DOF you have chosen to use really hurts the image quality...making it appear "accidentally" out of focus instead of an on-purpose DOF choice, because the phone is definitely a part of the subject (it's in the title) and yet is not sharp. Another technicality is that your composition seems very crowded. There is little room around the edges for the image to "breathe" and the corners of the phone being cut off like they are just make it feel cramped. The eyes wander through the image but never really settle on a singular focal point, as the white circle on the phone competes for attention from the cherry on top. The eyes are naturally going to be drawn to the brightest part of an image first, so in this one, that circle is it. Unfortunately, that's part of the out-of-focus area, which makes it less visually pleasing to most voters.

Keep clicking...if you have any questions, please let me know! :)

Take care,
Laurie

In the Spotlight
by Russell Weiss

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club, and welcome to DPC! :)

I see that you are a new registered user, so this is an opportunity for me to let you know a little about voters around here as well as discuss your image in this challenge.

Voters at DPC are very fickle and finicky...they want to be wowed, they want to be awed, and they want (for the most part) slick, studio style shots with gloss and sheen. Not many of the real, gritty, urban kinds of images fare well in challenges, but are typically received well just for portfolio critique and/or specific uses. This is important to know so that you can kind of see where they were coming from in their comments and in your score/placement.

This shot doesn't meet the challenge description. The description asks you to take a shot with a single, solitary light source. A concert has more than one light, so you were dinged for it. Those finicky voters are also MAJOR sticklers for the challenge descriptions and will punish anyone who enters a "DNMC" shot... Does Not Meet Challenge. Even if it's good.

The focus is way off...a common hazard with low-light shooting and lack of a tripod. There's no detail, nothing but vague context in that we can see a guitarist on a stage. That doesn't wow many voters. Some appreciate it as an artistic statement, but 99% of the time, you'll be knocked for anything even slightly out of focus.

I hope you don't think I'm just trying to go on and on and hack at your image... I just thought I'd take the opportunity to tell you what is what around here. I sure wish someone had done that for me, because I languished in the 4's forever until I finally realized what the voters wanted (to an extent). Feel free to PM me with any questions if you have any.

On a related note, I'm in the Dallas area so I thought it was great to see a local shot!

Keep clicking and take care!
Laurie

HONOURABLE MOTHER OF MY KIDS !
by DAWAR

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club! :)

My first impressions of your striking image are that the "honourable mother" is quite angry or concerned...the scowling expression makes one wonder if she was happy to pose for the shot or if it is a candid capture. I also think the light halo around her face and shoulder is a bit too strong; almost like too much sharpening or processing to be real. The single light might have been a bit more effective across her face, or at least part of it, IMHO.

In technical challenges such as these, voters really are looking for "wow" and "pop" instead of emotive kinds of imagery, so that may have been a deciding factor in the placement of your image. 5.3 is still a decent score, however, so take all this with a grain of salt. ;)

Keep shooting and let me know if you have any questions. :)

Take care,
Laurie

Still
by jdannels

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club! :)

This is certainly a well-done image, with a great score and placement in the challenge results. I think you did a good job in directing yourself. ;) Technically, all the important stuff has been covered...composition, clarity, focus, color, lighting...though I might like it filling the frame a bit more, but that's just me. I am a little distracted by your right earlobe...the bright spot there in an otherwise-dark part of the image does tend to pull the eye away. Other than that, I think you placed where I would have scored you and I am impressed with your image.

Keep shooting and let me know if you have any questions! :)

Take care,
Laurie

Every1's Got Something 2 Hide Except 4 Me & My Monkey
by TheStick

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club! :)

This is certainly an interesting image...it's probably a bit more of an obscure lyric than most voters would be familiar with, therefore it requires more thought than some of the other "in-your-face" kinds of entries with lots of wow and gloss. Your lighting works well, but I think voters would rather see a bit more on the face and probably less on the hand...the brightest part of the image is where the eye is naturally going to fall, and her hand isn't really the subject, so it distracts. The background is a bit distracting as well...a greater DOF and perhaps moving her away from the background more would decrease it's distracting properties. The monkey...well, to be honest, toys rarely, if ever, do well in challenges, no matter how much they meet the challenge. It's just one of those DPC things. ;)

Still, all that said, a 5.3 is not a bad score and I think you placed about where I would have guessed. Keep shooting, and let me know if you have any questions. :)

Take care,
Laurie

A Boy and His Bear
by scarbrd

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club! :)

This image just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I LOVE it. Great light, great composition, excellent technicals (focus, color, noise, etc.), and it's such a sweet shot. This is a wall-hanger for sure. As a mother of three sons, I would absolutely cherish a shot like this. You've captured such an exquisite moment in time, that all too soon will be gone. If I had voted in the challenge, this would have been a 10 from me for sure.

Keep shooting and let me know if you have any questions!

Take care,
Laurie

There's a Place.
by madhatter

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club! :)

What a beautiful place...always nice to see it in quality images such as this. I love the colors and the natural framing you chose for your composition. I think you had some great help from Mother Nature and those clouds. ;)

I can't really think of any ways to improve it. You could always move and take Zoomdak with you so that the rest of us could have a shot at placing high sometimes. ;)

Keep shooting and take care!
Laurie

But baby you can drive my car... ... and maybe I love you
by ebbe

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

This is a cute take on the challenge. It does meet the Beatles song lyrics/title requirement, but I think it's downfall in voting was probably the fact that it looks more like a vacation snapshot than a planned image for submission in a contest. The composition is a bit too centered. Perhaps cropping on the left and getting in a bit closer would help. It also appears that they are just walking by the car and not actually attempting to drive it, so that might have played on your score a bit. However, 5.6 is nothing to sneeze at. I'd take it and run. ;)

Keep shooting and let me know if you have any questions. :)

Take care,
Laurie

alone in the dark
by shot

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club! :)

I really like this image...great mood, great sense of forboding (is that a word?) and wonderful processing. I think that compositionally, it would be sronger if you were not in the center of the frame. Moving to your left and being more in the dark with perhaps just a bit of light on your face might have made it stronger, and perhaps earned a few more tenths of a point. It does have great potential and I think that if you continue to shoot in that location you will really come up with something fabulous.

Keep shooting and let me know if you have any questions! :)

Take care,
Laurie

And when I awoke, I was alone, this bird had flown
by owen

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club! :)

I didn't vote in the Beatles challenge, but I did browse through the thumbnais just to peek...and this is one of the few images I opened up to appreciate in full size. I LOVE it. The DOF you've chosen to use is perfect, and the focus on the bird is spot on. I love the blends of colors, the mood, and the overall feel of this shot. As far as the challenge goes, you couldn't get much better than this for an entry. My hat is off to you!! :)

Keep shooting, and let me know if you have any questions.

Take care,
Laurie