Sweet Dreams
by njsabs

Comment:
What a sweet and adorable shot! This cute and cuddly kitten is all snuggled up with a candy cane. The picture truly does speak "Sweet Dreams"; you made an correct choice with the title. Two critiques on the shot. The whites of the kitten and the cane are an off white/cream white. A brighter white would really pop off that red - perhaps playing with color levels and/or brightness & contrast would help the colors really pop off the page. Next an smaller aperature 8 and up alongside a long shutter speed will help with the depth of field. It will help capture all the lovely details you have now but it would have all of the candy cane in sharp focus. The part of the candy cane that is closest to us is slightly out of focus. Nonetheless this is a great portrait. 8

What\'s a Dalmation got that I don\'t Have??
by PurpleK

Comment:
This really brought a smile to my face! Love the creative set-up you have here and the title really highlights the humor of the shot! The dog's pose and expression is wonderful! Lighting is good but can be better with some of those shadows cast from the hat and the firetruck: two lights angled at 45 degrees on either side could help cut down on the shadows. Next I wonder why he is on a platform as that I see the edges of it near the firetruck and on the opposite side of the firehat? It is a tad distracting to the eye. It would improve the composition if it was just a flat white backdrop like the white 'wall' in the background.

Fall Feline
by timfythetoo

Comment:
A Coon Cat I believe? If so then this autumn backdrop is really perfect for it invokes the idea of a wild animal (think raccoon) in it's wooded habitat. Even if not this portrait is still striking. The colors and textures are rich. And the lighting is spot on that we can appreciate all the lovely details of the cat and it's surroundings. The cat is also perfectly posed with those eyes firmly staring at us when we, the viewer, stare back at this magnificent cat.

Napping
by chunky

Comment:
This one really made me chuckle. With his/her tongue hanging out this big doggie looks like it just flopped down on the nearest warm spot and crashed. This is a good 'day in the life' dog portrait. Good eye 8

My New Puppy.... Ginger
by Sunniee

Comment:
What a wonderful portrait of this little big, eyed puppy. Whenever they cock their head to the side in curiosity it adds instant appeal to the picture. You captured a great pose and the lighting is excellent. Ginger's portrait screams "cuteness" all over it. Good job!

Cody - Ranch Dog
by Ristyz

Comment:
This is a great portrait! Love the 'prairie backdrop' for it really puts him in the environment he works/plays in. Love how the head is perked. Cody is alert and watching the herd even when he is taking a short break to rest. I like the soft effect for it adds to a dreamy almost nostalgic feel of the good ol' rural days.

Aloha Quack Aloha Quack
by EGoobie

Comment:
Congradulations on getting your 5! I am very proud of you, my little shutterbug:-) Looking forward to see you grow in your photography skills.

Where did everyone go?
by roby21112

Comment:
The concept is a good one but it needs improvement to move it out of the average shot into an above average shot. Lighting and focus needs improvement. The background and duck could be in sharper focus if you try a smaller aperature. An 8 or greater would increase the sharpness in the depth of field. The tricky part would be the lighting. While you may get everything in sharp detail of the game it maybe too much light exposure for the game or too little light to properly illuminate the ducky. Taking lots of shots and experimenting with ISO as well as aperature settings might yield the correct combination needed. Concept is good. I don't see the ducky as a player playing a video game. Because his color is yellow like Pac-man, I immediately think of the ducky taking the place of Pac-man in this video game. One thing the composition suffers from is that the ducky's face is never seen. If you placed the ducky was in a side profile view, had it's mouth open, and positioned such that the mouth looked like it was chomping on the white dots about to eat a blue ghost it would strengthen the connection of the ducky being Pac-man. A bonus would be that we would see the duck's face rather than it's backside.

"I just don't think his head is screwed on right."
by typhotos

Comment:
I love the humor and expressions in this composition!!! The plucky, chubby duck turns his head to the confused monkey and makes the observation, "I just don't think his head is screwed on right." The duck that they are talking about has a screw top on his head. It is the attention to detail, the arrangement of your subjects and the expressions that make this a wonderfully creative composition. I wonder if a simple lake scene or park scene as the backdrop would have improved the setting by adding to the composition or if it would have made it too complex with too many elements? Lighting could be better with less glare reflecting off of the ducky on the left and the monkey's brow & smile on the right.

No Feeding The Ducks
by robinsphotos

Comment:
I like how you place these rubber duckys in an environment where one normally sees live ducks. However, the composition does need some improvement if you want to hold your audiences attention. First off, your main subjects, the duckys, are so small in relative proportion to the surrounding environment which makes up the photo. The duckys makes up perhaps 4% of the photo and are lost in their environment. They literally gets lost amoung the river scene. What is needed to strengthen the composition is to get a closer shot of your Ducky, such that it makes up 35% or more of your shot. By getting closer to your main subject(s)you draq in your viewers closer to the action or scene you are trying to present. My next suggestion may prove a bit challenging given that these two duckys are free floating. A side view or a frontal view showing the duckys faces would be better. All we get to see is the backside which is not as interesting as the face which can show expression. I don't know if the duckys are wearing a happy face, a grumpy face (yes, I have seen some like this) or what looks like a surprised face. The viewers cannot see the expression which would add visual interest to your photo.