Ode to Architectonic Exterior
by Photologist

Comment:
Great perspective on this, but I think I would have liked this quite a bit better without the heavy tonemapping.

Shark Attack!!
by thedoginthebog

Comment:
Definitely bizarre. Comes across to me a bit dark. Perhaps some minor levels or curves adjustments to brighten it up a tad?

Softball 2009 265.JPG
by Memoriesforever

Comment:
I wouldn't change a thing on this one! This is how I felt the other baseball pic should have been cropped.

Softball 2009 272.JPG
by Memoriesforever

Comment:
This is really cute. Only thing I might suggest is cropping it a little differently. I think it is too tight on the top and sides, and maybe too much space at the bottom.

lil girl.jpg
by Memoriesforever

Comment:
This looks like it may have been shot with the onboard flash. Generally speaking, the onboard pop-up flash is not a good thing for attractive images. If you have an external flash, you can bounce it off the ceiling for a more flattering light. If the pop-up is all you have right now, try taping an angled index card in front of it to bounce it's light upwards.

girls13.JPG
by Memoriesforever

Comment:
This is cute. Maybe a little selective brightening of the girl on the left. Some dodging to her face is what I would do. The other minor issue is the tip of her head being cut off.

chel3.jpg
by Memoriesforever

Comment:
There's a really bad pattern across this one. Could be compression artifacts, but could be something else.

becca.jpg
by Memoriesforever

Comment:
This is pretty good. Light is soft and flattering, cute pose and smile, nothing distracting. Perhaps some very modest adjustments to give it a little more pop is all I would suggest, and even then I would keep the adjustments fairly conservative.

2in11.jpg
by Memoriesforever

Comment:
This looks like it was scanned. Hard to tell what the original image quality is really like.

Product-shot.jpg
by Memoriesforever

Comment:
This pic looks very soft and slightly blurred. Could possibly be a minor amount of camera shake, or perhaps focus is not spot-on where it needs to be. The golden background is also very grainy. The combination suggests to me that this may have been shot handheld with a high ISO. If it was done with a compact camera it might be expected, but since you have a D40, I know you have a camera capable of sharp, clear shots.

For something like this, I'd use a tripod, low ISO, fairly high F-stop (in order to get better depth of field) self timer or remote switch to reduce shake and as long an exposure as needed.