Grass Reeds
by manic35

Comment:
Love the sharpness of detail in the reed on the far left. Beautiful in hue and detail especially against that lovely shade of blue sky. Now what is detracting about this composition is that the first thing the viewer's attention is focused on when first viewing this photo is those two blurred reeds that are in the center of the frame. They are almost glowing and because you have positioned them in the center of the frame they are the first elements that are noticed - that is typically not where you want your attention focused if the object in that position is not in focus. The grass reed to the left should be the one to dominate the scene but as that it is off to the side and only comprises mayhap 10% of the space of the composition it gets lost. I would have settled on one or two reeds closely side by side to focus on that would fill about 40% or more of the frame with the rest seen as a golden blur in the backdrop. This photo is good but more attention to the compositional elements and placement is needed before it can move into the exceptionally good category.

Touch Up
by banmorn

Comment:
Colors of the yellows are very bold and vibrant in this shot. Lighting and detail sharpness are done exceptionally well. The composition is good over-all but I think it mayhap suffer abit too much with 'over-saturation'. What I mean by that is that the viewer is hit up with a bit too much yellow - the yellow hue of the paint is almost the same shade as the yellow of the daisy and as such there is little contrast/difference between the two elements for the viewer to appreciate. Perhaps if the daisy was a different color the color of the yellow paint would really stand out or vice versa - i.e. painting a white daisy or some natural two-tone daisy that I have seen that are yellow & white. I do hope I am explaining what I mean effectively. Or explained in another way: If you had a painting with just shades of yellow on yellow side-by side with another painting with a shade of yellow paired with white. The two-tone painting will stand out more than the same shade painting only because visually it pops a bit more. That is what I think is needed here - an addition of another partner color that would make this visually pop more. Aside from that the photo is above average but not just yet in the exceptional category.

Flying Yellow
by TUBORG

Comment:
There is nice action going on with the tossed candy - Some are caught with sharp clarity while others are blurred because of motion. We feel movement with this shot. But the candy is not as prominent and first off noticable as the open hand seen in the shot. The hand is very well illuminated and in sharp clarity- because of that there is really no visual indicator that the hand really threw the candy other than the presence of the flying candy. I would have liked to have seen an indication of an act of tossing in the hand either through a slight blur OR the poise/position of the hand (as it is here the initial appearance of the position of the hand makes me think it is open in the position of high five or hello). I also think that this shot needed more candy present in the shot to be a dominent element in the shot. There are just too few and because of it they are noticed as a secondary next to the very noticable hand which dominates the scene.

Minneapolis Moline
by blad

Comment:
The first thing I notice when I look upon the picture is this man's gaze. He has this penetrating gaze that just arrests you. You managed to capture that exceptionally well. As this is the yellow challenge this composition would have been better had the man been leaning on the yellow tractor instead of that off camera orange one. His stance is great, but I would have prefered it not to be obscuring the yellow tractor nor the grille of the tractor. As the viewer, let us see more of the tools of his trade - show us more don't obscure it. The face of this gentleman has lots of character and the composition would have more visual impact if it was taken as a middle portrait shot - mainly from the waist up so as to draw more focus onto the individual and even less on the surrounding background.

pINkTRUDER ALERT
by obsidian

Comment:
Bright, cheerful and sunny are the words that I would use to describe this composition. This photo is very much springtime picnic with a cup of tea personified:-) Yellows are bold and vibrant and that splash of pink just adds another cheerful spring color for visual interest. The reflections on the teapot are a tad distracting and a good polorizer lens would eliminate those reflections. While the white background helps make the main subject stand out it creates a stark and sterile feel that is the exact opposite of the cheery, springtime mood you are creating with the flowers & teapot. Perhaps another color that is readily associated with spring would be a better compliment to the main object present in the photo - say a solid mint or grass green background - perhaps even a bright checkerboard pattern that children's artist Mary Engelbreit is fond of using in her borders would help boast that springtime bright colorful presentation seen in your photo.

"April hath put a spirit of youth in everything". — William Shakespeare
by Xilebo

Comment:
A beautifully composed picture that upon viewing Sting's song "Fields of Gold" began playing in my head. The yellow hues of the swaying flowers dominate the scene of this composition. Part of me would like to have the flowers in the foreground in sharper focus while another part likes the soft off focus look for it adds motion to the shot. I think and feel the breeze that blows over the swaying flowers. I think the model adds visual interest as she sits and reflects in this golden field. Lastly my only critique on this piece is that I wish that she had positioned her knee to be concealed by the flowers. The reason is because it detracts from the scene in which she is surrounded by this field of flowers. The upraised knee blocks the view of the flowers behind her and breaks up the vision of her being encircled by this sea of golden beauty.

Surrealistic Narcissus Pseudonarcissus
by hyperfocal

Comment:
Love the colors and presentation of the flowers in this shot! The flowers are in lovely bloom and sharp focus. Beautifully done and captured. This is a really good shot but it could be even better. As it stands now the areas of brightness and vibrancy rests more in the sky than in the properties of the flowers. Because they are in the foreground and are stereotypically brilliant and bold in hue they should be the ones that are dominating the scene with their vibrant colors. Instead their tones are more subdued and darker. My suggestion is to (if you can) manaully adjusted the settings to underexposure, and use the flash to get the right exposure on the flowers. This will give you a "studio" feel on a cloudy bright day. As an example this photographer managed to capture this //www.deviantart.com/view/30533681/ and I think you could do the same with this composition.

Yellow Tulip
by panasa

Comment:
This is a good photo and has potential to move out of the good category into the outstanding. Speaking of 'outstanding' the yellow tulip stands alone in at field of red tulips. You need to further categorizes this lone colored tulip as standing out from the crowd not only be color but by stance and position. The red tulip to the right obscures a small portion of the yellow tulip not to mention appears to tower over it. This overshadows the yellow tulip and robs attention away from it - which it should remain your main focus with nothing to distract or detract attention away. Positioning the yellow flower to appear in the far left hand corner would call direct attention to it and subtly move it to be 'first' in line just as long as it is in sharp focus while the red flowers tend to lose sharp focus as you move down the line. Also I love how you managed to capture this yellow flower with just one single dewdrop hanging precariously near the bottom petals. It further makes this flower distinct from the rest. Lastly I have to mention that the hues in this composition are beautiful and vibrant.

little yellow riding hood
by mandyturner

Comment:
Good shot and has potential. Framing is good with sharp focus on subject -the young girl under the yellow hood. Lighting is a bit harsh on her features as that there are areas where the light falls such that the rosy tones of her skin are lost. You want to keep the tones of the skin even so lighting is critical. Keeping an even, rosy tone to her face would improve the portrait's appeal not to mention play into the fairytale connection of happy, cherubic girl skipping to granny's house. If using natural lighting the best times are early morning or late afternoon because the light provides a richer warmer tones. Late afternoon and high noon typically has the harsher white light because it is the full strength of light of the day - of course cloud cover can change that by diffusing and shattering the light thus lessening the harsh lighting to subjects. Background could be better suited to the title theme by either showing green foliage or just a dark background to make the yellow hues of the hood visually pop out. Lastly, in keeping with the title theme the inclusion of the girl holding a basket would strengthen the connection to the fairytale story.

Early Morning Fishing
by philup

Comment:
A nice scenic fishing picture. It is a good picture and has all of the right elements but it needs a little more work for it to move into the outstanding category. First off the location and angle are good - you have the scenic background of the lake and the lovely glow of an early morning sunrise. You have a side profile shot of the fisherman such that we have a good view of what he is doing - holding the fishing pole. The problem is with the angle and location of where you choose to shot this. The barren trees in the background do nothing for the shot other than distract attention away from the sunrise AND it's tangle of barren branches help lose the fishing pole's defining shape. The fishing pole needs to be distinct and separate from those trees. If it were at all possible I would recommend finding a location where there are no trees to act as a backdrop to distract attention away from the fisherman, the fishing pole and the lovely sunrise. Next I am not too sure that the yellow outfit he is sporting is overall complimentary to the mood you want to present in the picture - serene, calm and tranquil. That yellow is overbearing to the serenity that the scene presents. I know that something has to be yellow to meet the challenge but I think you could have very easily played up those warm and wonderful yellows & oranges in the sunrise. The colors of the sunrise would become the major element that is the backdrop to just a side profile of the fisherman in silhouette.