Watching Mommy's Makeup
by DougPaz

Comment:
*From the critique club*

Greetings!

I like the different expressions on the two faces - the serious intention of the mother and the playful learning of the kid. The three heads form a good visual line across the frame, and there are a number of strong lines present here which add to the punch of this candid snapshot. The colours are clear with no serious cast. The kid's face being brighter helps support the message of the title. You've chosen a good dof to highlight the foreground people at the same time as blur the background, but not so much as to destroy the context.

Being a members' challenge, you could have burned a little on the mother's face. The darkness takes away from the overall frivolity. The challenge is 'mirror', and you felt compelled to add quite a lot of the mother's hair on the left. I feel that this detracts somewhat from the composition. Too much front of focal range in the foreground gives a slightly messy feeling. Maybe there could be another way to include the mirror without this.

I have to say that the capture of the girl is simply wonderful. The expression, the skin tones, the lighting are all spot on. I suspect that you centred that in your composition and left the camera to do the rest, leaving the mother darker. Oh well.

I'd have given a 5 or a 6 for this, had I voted, but if the crop had been to the right (to include some right hand mirror) and closer in on the girl, probably a 7 or 8.

Please feel free to contact me about this critique.

Jim.

Defy Gravity
by train

Comment:
...by turning the photo upside down. I don't think so. I don't like the border, either. 3

Splash
by Rando D300

Comment:
Yikes! Great capture.

Bang! -- Sore Loser
by graphicfunk

Comment:
You must have been playing black! Nice shot. 7

Dirdy Birdy
by jefalk

Comment:
Didn't the challenge brief specifically ask for no motion trails? Outside this challenge, I'd rate this very highly, but here, it's off the mark. 3 for a great shot.

It's Not Rocket Science
by guitar_mann

Comment:
I can see the point with the play on different textures, but, for me, the curtain is too dull to make for an interesting overall effect. Sorry.

Concentrate
by Tranquil

Comment:
The point of this challenge was to avoid blurs. Unfortunately, here the ball and the arm are blurred. You needed a fast shutter speed.

In Flight
by Brenb

Comment:
The dof is good, the colours are fine. I'd prefer the wings to have been upwards, though. 7

Rifle Shooted Water Balloon.
by eojedaa

Comment:
Stunning. My only 10 of this challenge so far.

Gel Break
by typologic

Comment:
Neat Image gets a bad press for its overuse, but sometimes, you need to use it.