Adam Smiles
by Lonz

Comment:
I love this expression! Great catch. :-)

Priority One
by hahn23

Comment:
Adorable! Wonderful capture with nice earthly tones, spot-on focus, and nice DOF. Hope this makes the front page! Good luck.

Palace Of Pollution
by delve

Comment:
Nice control of exposure on the lighting. Horizon is a bit tilted to the left. Composition is a tad centered. Was there not another viewpoint for this where you could get more skyline (without the powerline) and less foreground? Perhaps even zooming in more (or crop if you have to)?

Tough Guy
by smithma

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club

First Impression

Probably a fun kid trying to look tough for this pose. A bit awkward.

Looking Deeper

Feels very staged and contrived rather than natural and catching a 'moment'. I know people do this kind of work in studios all the time - can't be easy! :-)

Part of what gives me this feeling is the glasses. They don't seem to fit the 'tough guy' demeanor attempted here. The other item is the shirt not laying flat around the neck/shoulders area grabs some attention (at least for me). The eyes also feel 'lifeless' because they are looking away from the camera and are hidden by the glasses. No 'sparkle', no connection with the viewer.

From a technical standpoint I think you did a very nice job. Good focus and clarity. The lighting seems about right, and you handled the glasses (no glare) very well. Compositionally everything in the photo is placed comfortably for viewing.

I didn't vote on this, but I can easily see how many looked at it, said "ok", hit the 5 and kept on going.

You may want to consider posting this photo in a forum thread also. This site has some great portrait photographers as members and I'm sure you'd get some useful information/tips.

Questions? Feel free to send me a PM. Thanks!

Dreaming of Spring
by jpochard

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club

First Impression

Uncomfortable. Tight. Dark.

Looking Deeper

When reading the title of this photo I get the general idea of what the message is, and part of the photo works for it; the bright, slightly OOF background area.

Part of the problem for me is I can't comfortably settle in with this. My eyes wander for a focal point and find one in the lower foreground, but that's not a comfortable place to go. It's dark and away from the highlights that I'm naturally drawn to. Hence, a back & forth duel - focus, light, focus, light, etc...

In looking at the layout of the flowers you may have had to move to another vantage point to get this to work. If the foreground tulip was illuminated more, or higher up, the focus could have been given to that and the bg would be more natural. Perhaps even some bounced fill light? I carry a piece of white paper and a small folded sheet of aluminum foil in my bag for situations like this.

One last control point item...the upper-left yellow is another attention stealer IMO.

I'm a big fan of bg bokeh and want to like this shot for that alone (I love the little peek of blue/purple lower right!)...just the foreground bringing it down for me. Sorry. I guess that would technically constitute composition.

Side note...the new rules allow for 720px and 200kb filesize...not sure if the extra 50kb would have helped any, but it's there to use. :-)

Oops! I just read the comments rec'd after the challenge (you must have posted for forum feedback?). Guess my thoughts align with the general concensus. I usually wait until I've formed my thoughts before reading others' feedback - keeps my from being unduly influenced.

Questions? Please feel free to send me a PM. Thanks!

Simplicity
by keibo84

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club

First Impression

Perfect!

Looking Deeper

I love this photo. It was my favorite from the challenge. Your title says it all. Simplicity!

Compositionally, this is a piece of art. For the challenge it's a perfect fit. Beauty in a stark, cold, yet serene setting.

The diagonal of the layout is easy viewing and makes for a pleasant experience. Granted, the image isn't deep in concept so I don't need to stay with it forever to take it all in. The shadows help add depth and balance. I see a hint of blue in the shadows, which makes sense and solidifies this in the challenge theme.

Something that probably held this back a smidge is the jaggies from resizing on the tree trunks and shadows. Hard to avoid, but still there nonetheless. At full size (print) this probably isn't an issue.

Not sure what else to say. Some probably could find some deeper philosophical meanings...me, I just like it. :-D

Job well done!

Questions? Please feel free to send me a PM. Thanks!

The Only Survivor of the Kids Party
by cavenpie

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club

First Impression

Smile. :-) Simplicity.

Looking Deeper

This photo met the challenge theme without question IMO. That's a feat in itself based on all the banter around what the challenge meant to different people.

It's very simple, and to the point. The title, in combination, made me smile as I could visualize this poor leftover jelly bean getting left behind.

The simplicity gives the photo a feeling of a stock photo, especially with the white background. Kind of static and impersonal. I think this made the image an easy 'hit the 5' and move on target during the challenge. Nothing to hold the viewer's interest for very long.

From a technical standpoint I don't see anything really out of place. The focus is right on, lighting seems appropriate...if it was mine I'd have been tempted to clean up the few specks on the lower front of the jelly bean. Small item, but some may have seen it as a lack of attention to detail.

The new rules allow for image size up to 720px for advanced challenges now. You only used 640...may have gotten a little more impact from the extra sizing.

Had I been at your party, this jelly bean wouldn't have survived; black is my favorite! :-D

Questions? Please feel free to send me a PM. Thanks!

Mystic Game
by Trumpeteer4

Comment:
Nice idea and the composition is interesting. The background works well also. The boys face seems just a tad soft, like he's this side of the focal plane a little and his face is also taking on some color hue from the ball.

Emergence
by SandyP

Comment:
Very nice. Love the color, the detail, and the composition. Well done!

Evening Entertainment
by XMountaineer

Comment:
:-) This one made me smile. A very patient dog.