Animosity
by Senay

Comment:
As an entry for the Hate II challenge this works well. Expression is good, light is dramatic. How could it be improved from a portrait perspective? Current DOF emphasizes the mouth and eyes nicely, but I would have liked to see the upper teeth in better focus -- it is possible some selective sharpening would take care of this (admittedly not OK for basic editing for the Hate challenge, but worth a shot for the Portrait side challenge). And perhaps having the inside of the mouth lit up so we can see the uvula hanging down would add even more pop to this.

Max 1
by Paul

Comment:
Shallow DOF works so well here because you have him angled in such a way that one eye, his nose and part of his mouth (as well as a large part of his hat) are all in the plane of focus. Great lighting (but not surprising coming from you).

BTW, interesting mix of clothes -- formal jacket with casual shirt and hat -- must have been Dad rather than Mom who dressed him. :-)

Lutchenko
by kingskingdom

Comment:
I like the dramatic lighting and the stern look, good details as well.

Zanchristmas09-7web.jpg
by gwe21

Comment:
Nicely posed, I like the smile and direct look, lighting is excellent, and colors of his clothes are nice and rich. Skin looks a bit pale, but it is winter so he may not have seen much sun recently. The eyes seem a little less sharp than the hair and clothes, you might do some minor selective sharpening.
(Edited to correct grammar)

Message edited by author 2010-01-01 21:41:41.

Freezing my butt off
by incubus

Comment:
I like the way the cat is peeking in, certainly fits the title nicely. You might want to darken just the cat a little bit.

_MG_1383
by bobonacus

Comment:
Nice pose, great smile, good job with the lighting.

Very minor suggestions: a) do a tiny bit of selective sharpening on the eyes so that they match the sharpness of her lips and b) if you have time to spare clone out some of the stray hairs near her arm.

Bored . .
by Jedusi

Comment:
Excellent and dramatic owl shot, great lighting, love the color of the green background.

Thanks for being the first to enter an animal without any humans!

Day One
by LMA128

Comment:
Nice composition and mood. I think the overlay is too subtle - I would prefer either no overlay or something a bit more dramatic.

by Mephisto

Comment:
All of the vertical and horizontal elements work well here to complement a very elegant portrait.

could not ask for more
by photokariangel

Comment:
Very nicely done with respect to getting the face right/clothes yet having a bright enough background so it is non-intrusive yet adds interest. Frame works well.