this way...
by jonnienye

Comment:
You will get hammered by the DNMC police. This is not a landscape LOL :)

I'm Moving On
by glad2badad

Comment:
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!

I am so happy happy for you!! FABULOUS photograph :)

baby_boy_swaddled.jpg
by Lonz

Comment:
AWESOME!!! He's ADORABLE!!!!!!! Dude, congratulations! I know you can't wait to be called Daddy :)

Macro
by kellyrc01

Comment:
This has a great, thin, DOF (which is what you will get with most macros) but I would be even more agressive with the crop. A little noise is to be expected but a simple application of Neat Image will get rid of it. You can download it here and put it in the folder labeled plug ins within the adobe photoshop folder. It will only work on an image that is 1200 pixels or less when used as a free application, but for the purpose of entering challenges here, it will work :) If you lit this with a single low, soft light, it would give a little bit of sparkle to those diamonds and add some lovely rainbow effect through the glass :)

portrait drill redux.jpg
by jonnienye

Comment:
Allllllllllrighty then, here we go... first, the good things: I like the blur you put to the background here. That colour shirt is good, it compliments you. Lighting is nice and soft where it is hitting the subject. This pose is excellent.

Your lighting is at a good angle but it is causing a tad bit of shadowing under the chin... Now, to get some light under the chin try either something white or a reflector on the ground just left of the camera and angle it toward the subject by putting something under the backside... also, you might want to tweak down the reds in post processing just a hair, you look a little warm... It will make it easier to tell if your colour is off by getting something white near an edge of the photo where it can be cropped out after the fact. The glasses shade your eyes a wee bit too much and take out the catchlight possibility... not terrible but it does hamper the photo a bit... Your focus seems a bit soft because I can't see your eyes also... try an Unsharp Mask with the following settings: 200, 1.0, 0 to clarify it a little bit, then after resizing, hit it with sharpen one more time just before you save... you will be surprised at the difference.

Okay, that's it... you may respond here or in the thread. Remember, I am trying only to make challenge entries better for us all and I look forward to reading what the rest of you have to say :)

Portrait :)
by daboardergirl

Comment:
First thing that strikes me is the emotion here, I really like that... moving on to technicals :) Go and check out Cindi's thread on portrait lighting... it seems to be a littttttle bit on the flat side in both but the first one but, in the first one, you blew out the sky... the only fix I can think of would be to get more light on your subject and less in the background... really early in the morning and late evening light make for the best pictures because the light is not only coming in at an angle, it is also much softer than 11 o'clock-ish light... it doesn't need to be diffused. If you have a large white posterboard, it serves well as a reflector (if you don't already have one and are on a budget) and you will probably have to use one to fill in some areas because the sun will be at an angle. I love outdoor portraits because the natural light is beautiful and rarely screws up your colour :) The catchlights in the center portrait are nice but there are none in the one on the right... fill flash might have worked here, but again, you will get some flat, frontal type, lighting.

Your mom is great!! My mom would never pose for me LOL HAPPY BIRTHDAY AGAIN :) Feel free to respond... I will be looking again this evening :)

Portrait
by kellyrc01

Comment:
Okay sweet pea... time to get to know that beautiful camera of yours :) First thing, turn that ISO DOWN... it is WAYYYYYY to high. You should be shooting portraits at no more than 100 and only in super special circumstances should you use anything higher. The higher the ISO, the more noise your photo is going to turn out with. Second, flip the switch over to your M setting and punch in the following: F4.0 ISO 100 then put something in the spot that you will be standing (where your eyes will be), set your camera on a tripod, flip the button on your lens over to MF for manual focus, turn the end of the lens left and right until the object where you will be is perfectly in focus and halfway press your shutter... your camera will then meter the light :) now, if the meter (the little thing that looks like this: -2...-1...0...1...2) has the arrow on the - side, turn your shutter speed down (slower)... if the arrow is on the 1 or 2 on the right, turn your shutter speed up... then, repeat the process until it is dead on 0. Now, set the self timer, get out front and move the object you were using as a place holder, hit the shutter and pose. :) Always pay very close attention to your background... it will make you or break you :) After you have taken your pic, take it into photoshop and adjust it as necessary... usually a quick levels and always use an Unsharp Mask adjustment (just play with this until you get the effect you like on the photo and make sure you have preview checked in the box that pops up). Your window light is great here but the catchlights are really everything in a portrait... I also like the shirt you chose to wear... it is flattering to your features which are romanesque and very strong. I am disturbed by only being able to see a tad bit of your left eye and by your nose cutting your far cheek in half. The turn of the shoulders is a bit too front facing as well.

My my my, I did get carried away!!! I hope that you get some helpful information out of this post though :) If you wanna kill me, I live in Dayton, Tennessee... just let me know you are coming so I can have the camera ready for the next nightmares challenge :) hehe

The Letter
by JamesKW

Comment:
This is so scary on so many levels!! My husband leaves at the end of August for Iraq... he is in TX right now... this is the kind of thing I dread!!

Congratulations on the ribbon though! Very well shot!

WhiteRose.jpg
by WalesP

Comment:
This is so beautiful! I love that the focus is juuuuust on the edge of the petals.

Roses.jpg
by WalesP

Comment:
Breathtaking arrangement of flowers!!