Scarlett
by Diamonds

Comment:
Hello from the critique club

An appealing image that contributes well to the free study challenge

What a lovely face, the cheeky smile and those blue eyes, what a charmer she is! It's a lovely image in its own right but inevitably it will mean the most to you and your family and as such will be a treasure to pleasure for a long future. In photographic terms the very soft focus background suggests that it was probably taken at full aperture? She is certainly well isolated from the background and any distracting detail but in terms of the colours they are all in competition in the lower half with fairly similar tones in the top half. This may not be any problem for you but perhaps a different coloured darker background would have in terms of contrast improved it to the extent that we could see her lovely hair too in clearer contrast.

Thank you for your lovely entry Michelle

Attentive Owl
by Drake

Comment:
Hello from the critique club

An appealing image that contributes well to the free study challenge

The eyes have it! That's where the immediate impact of your excellent shot stems from. There is lovely colour and detail throughout your shot, against the mainly soft focus background which whilst not to your best advantage reveals that it has been shot in its natural surroundings. I like the lighting around the head in particular and whilst its not rim lighting it is nearly equally as effective, the top and side of the head are very nicely illuminated.

A lovely entry that has been well received, well done Drake

Siamese Twins red rock formation with Pikes Peak
by Mddoane

Comment:
Hello from the critique club

An appealing image that contributes well to the free study challenge

It's always essential to try and look for a different view in trying to create an original image and here you have done just that so well done. I don't know if the original scene was as vivid as this but it feels somewhat saturated, I would prefer some desat for a more natural looking result to bring out some of those lovely colours and textures in the rocks.

Wide angle lenses such as you have here are great for creativity, I look forward to seeing more from you soon. Thank you for your entry Michael

island
by fngood83

Comment:
Hello from the critique club

An appealing image that contributes well to the free study challenge

I like your simple high key image, the darker island contrasts well against the distant background and the sky. Personally, I think I would have made more of the lovely tones of the foreground against the less impressive tones of the sky by recomposing with predominantly foreground with a much reduced sky. However, the simplicity of your original vision remains and works very well, these are often the most effective sort of shots, the simpler the better.

Thanks for your entry, well done

untitled
by MeMex2

Comment:
Hello from the critique club

An appealing image that contributes well to the free study challenge

It is a nice composition and works well in mono. In terms of your assignment I would say the lighting is quite effective, there are no harsh shadows or highlights it is fairly even.

Before I answer your specific questions I have to disagree with one of your commenters, the title is always an important element of every submission, it helps your viewer to discern your intention in creating the image and their own interpretation of the end result. You can clearly see from your commenters that your image did work in the way that you intended, so very well done there. For me, although I do like those huge dark glasses they do reflect the rest of the room you were using, which wouldn't have been such a big problem if had been a darkened room without windows! As it is the windows and bright spots are hugely distracting and detract fro the end result, other than that, the contrast in your model ought to be raised to avoid the crow dominating quite so much as it does but perhaps this was a deliberate part of your intention?

Anyway, well done and thanks for a very interesting entry Jane

Studying the Old Fashioned Way
by dpeden182

Comment:
Hello from the critique club

An appealing image that contributes well to the free study challenge

When I saw your lens details I thought wow, all that light-gathering power, only to see that you stopped down to f3.5, presumably for sufficient DOF on the candle and flame. You were right to see the mono potential in your image and I agree it is a great image, you ought to approach the candle manufacturers to use it in their advertising.

I like your composition, I like the predominant low key lighting, there is a good range of tones throughout and the depth of field works well throughout. Perhaps the only thing I might have changed would have been to turn the candle round to hide the text and an authentic quill would have been a lovely touch too.

I'm disappointed for you that it didn't get the recognition in score and comments that it deserved, it's great to see you participating at such a young age, I look forward to seeing more from you soon, I hope this helps, thanks for a great entry Daniel.
P.S.
Hope the homework went well!

Wild Female Meadowlark
by sfalice

Comment:
Hello from the critique club

An appealing image that contributes well to the free study challenge

The vivid colouring and detail are the elements that give your image additional impact. You made very best use of the golden opportunity that presented itself to you by careful selection of the technical details, a choice of aperture to get sufficient depth of field to capture all of the bird, including its beak, whilst isolating it from the background and retaining sufficient soft focus detail. This is a very accomplished study that deserved a higher score and comments, I hope this makes up for it. Well done Alice.

w i s p s • o f • d r e a m s
by Ja-9

Comment:
Hello from the critique club

An appealing image that contributes well to the free study challenge

I knew it was yours Janine before I even saw your name! As you know, I like these motion abstracts, many of your included. I love the subtle shades and the blend into more uniform and lighter base, it all feels very vibrant. Unfortunately this is not always going to work for the masses! I am disappointed for you that the score was so low and the lack of comments but perhaps it was just too abstract for them to appreciate? You'll always have one who appreciates them here Janine, thanks for your entry.

Sisterhood
by dtremain

Comment:
Hello from the critique club

An appealing image that meets the challenge

She is a lovely model and you have captured her nice natural smile in a very attractive way. However, I feel it lacks the sharpness necessary to give it that extra impact, there feels a softness throughout that may be down to camera shake. Looking at your EXIF the 1/125 should under normal circumstances avoid this problem but I see you have used 173mm focal length in which case I think I would have raised the ISO to 800 to get into the 1/250 range which should hopefully have given you a sharper image. Failing that the softness may be inherent in the lens itself, whilst they are a great travel lens they inevitably come with some shortcomings.

The other problem is the fall of the light itself, it is lighting areas of her forehead, cheek and nose and arms in a not entirely enhancing way. The problem is that it is forming highlights in these areas. In the case of her arms and hands this may have been best avoided with a closer crop of just her face and shoulders.

A good attempt, thanks for your entry David.

Child's Play in the Window Light
by gipper11

Comment:
Hello from the critique club

An appealing image that meets the challenge well

Lovely effective use of available light with an interesting and original composition that works well against the dark background. The subtle but sufficient light from the right serves well to avoid the dark shadows that would result from the main window alone. The inclusion of the blocks is both clever and effective in revealing the light through its varying shades and colours.

It surprises me it didn't score higher, I think it all works very well to make best use of the available light, well done Larry.