Athena - Daughter of Zeus, The Embodiment of Wisdom, Reason, and Purity
by Zeus

Comment:
The set-up is cute but the choice of background is way too distracting for the viewer to fully appreciate the poochie. The lace background is good to create the illusion of a white christmas or snow but one has to remember you can see through it. And there is alot of distracting colors and objects behind that lace backdrop. Placing a solid white cloth behind the lace one will help create a subtle idea of a white christmas/snow AND provide a solid white background for Athena to visually stand out on. As the composition stands now she is just lost in a jumble ot colors and textures that don't allow her to shine as the main subject.

Bogart
by heathen

Comment:
Cats will curl up just about anywhere they take a liking too:-) I like the sharp focus and the B&W tones are excellent. But I feel the composition needs tweeking. The jug with the asian characters and the 'rocks' at the foot of the crate really add nothing to your overall composition. They actually take some focus away from your main subject of this photo - Bogart. A square crop that shows us the cat and a portion of the crate would increase this composition's visual impact and appeal. Keep the "Arvada Dairy" in the cropped shot because the viewer will instantly associate the word dairy with milk and because cats stereotypically love milk it is in the crate. This is a good photo with some strong bones. It just needs a little tweeking to bring it out of the good category and into the exceptional category.

Caught in the Act
by Emerkaza

Comment:
A cute candid photo of the ferret 'borrowing' objects that catches it's eye. However the green basket is far too distracting and takes the attention away from your main subject. One sees far too much of the basket rather than the cute ferret. A closer crop to just the ferret and the purloined pen would help strengthen the composition. Lighting could be better as that I think you might have used flash. Nothing wrong with using flash as long as it does not create harsh shadows (none are in this picture) or cause an object to reflect back the light resulting in blow-outs/overexposed areas. The top left hand portion of the 'wood' is reflecting back the light resulting in that area to be washed out.

Mrs. Rabbit
by LN13

Comment:
This photo is a good close-up shot of the rabbit. I like the tight cropping because you get to see this bunny up close. I do have a small critique on the cropping and that is I think you shaved it a little too close. I think the whiskers on the left side could have been included to further visual appeal. Next it appears that there is a tad of soft focus on the rabbit - I don't know if the downy softness of the fur is tricking my eyes or if you did utilize a soft focus to give a soft dreamy look. Regardless that soft "look" helps the composition because it adds a sense of touch to the photograph. The viewer gets a 'feel' on how soft this downy white rabbit is. You keep your background simple and clean so that the focus remains on the rabbit. The black background also offers the best contrast to the white rabbit so that it really pops of the page.

I Know Santa's on His Way... with Lots of Toys and Goodies....
by fotomann_forever

Comment:
A very cute and humorous photo. I could tell you put a lot of effort into composing the shot with the right elements from the jingle bells on the doggie's hat to the toys by the tree, the poinsetta and the chimney...
Only thing is - I don't think Santa will want to come down the chimney with the fire lit;-)
Lighting is good but there seems to be a slight, and I say slight, yellowish cast to the image. Playing around with selective desat could help remove that color cast. Overall a creative and cute composition.

18 years
by yanko

Comment:
Wow, look at that powerful stare. Absoulutely love the colors and all the lovely details that really stand out in the wonderful composition. Those deep amber yellow eyes really pop off the screen and hypnotize you with that powerful stare. The square crop was an excellent choice for this close-up head shot of this cat. It keeps the attention tightly focused on your main subject and keeps our eyes coming back to that penatrating stare. 10

Tom
by Albireo

Comment:
A very nice candid photo of this cat. Tom looks like he is studying something off camera very intently. His expression is one of sizing something up and deciding if he should pounce or just stay put on the nice comfy cushion. LIghting and colors are spot on. Good job.

Braving the weathers
by Mephisto

Comment:
Although this is not the stereotypically accepted animal that springs to mind when one says pet it is a very beautiful and exceptionally well done portrait. I say stereotypical because cats & dogs are widely accepted as pets but I did know of a friend who had a horse for a pet so it is an uncommon pet. Love the lighting and all the lovely details in this photo! I also love how you included the rugged terrain and the mountain backdrop in this photo for it shows the animal in it's natural surroundings and the region it is native too.

Domestic Violence
by eqsite

Comment:
Lighting, colors and composition idea are good. I like how you caught the cat looking at the goldfish. The cat almost looks like it is smacking it lips salivating over it's next meal. A shame that you could not capture the tonge actually hanging out of the side of it's mouth like it is licking it chops saying "MMMMM". That would add instant appeal and possibly catapult the score to a 10 but getting that sort of shot would take an extreme amount of time, patience and luck. There is one element that does not sit well: the glass container that holds the fish. It is not a fishbowl. It looks more like a glass pitcher rather than a place you would normally keep a fish. Because it is a glass pitcher it makes the whole scene seem a staged. Making the scene look like a natural occurance that one just happened to capture would vastly improve the visual appeal of the photo. To do that you would have to have the fish is a recognized stereotypical round fishbowl. Also the reflections serve to distract - well placed lights or a polorizer would help cut down or eliminate that problem.

Shane
by MaryO

Comment:
Shane looks like he has a bit of the Irish Wolfhound in him...perhaps he is as that I have only seen that breed once and they are huge. But I digress, the critique on the photo. The lighting really shows off the details of color and textures on this dog. Love the square crop it really keeps the focus on your main subject: Shane. Love the bit of expression that the dog has in this photo portrait. His mouth is slightly open and his head is turned slightly to the camera as if he just took an over the shoulder look & flashed a smile.