When i grow up, i want to be like.....
by pichichib

Comment:
Hello from the Critique Club.
First looking at your photo, you̢۪ve included a chair, and while you̢۪ve included a person, but they aren̢۪t posed in a traditional fashion for portraiture. More specifically, and as others have noted as well, we cannot see the boys face. A big part of portraiture is who is in the picture, showing us their face is key to this. As far as your title goes, I think including the mother would have been a more successful approach to depicting this. If she was the subject, we would see an important part of her life- that of being a parent. We can all relate to this and understand it readily, and those glances that people give their children are often exceptional for captures like this because they show adults doing things they rarely do- being silly, making faces, or being more expressive than usual. Regarding technical details, I think your photo is strong and well done. Contrast is pretty good throughout, and I like the lines of the bench leading us towards where the boy is looking. The reflection on the car in the background is slightly distracting, but not overly so. I̢۪ll echo Lydia on this as well, that this photo would have been better served for a different challenge.

Vulnerable
by Citadel

Comment:
Hello from the Critique Club-
Your entry very obviously fits the challenge well, as is made evident by its placing but also by a solid and obvious use of a chair in your portrait. I like that you took things in a slightly different direction from the standard portrait, and think that the key to making a successful portrait is giving it some sort of direction or make it depict more than just somebody̢۪s face. Overall, I like your photo, but there are a few things that really distract me from the scene as a whole. The first is the strange way that your hair sorta turned into a mat due to the lighting. I̢۪m not sure if there was clipping or what, but I get stuck there visually. The other is the differing color temperatures. I think going with one or the other would have been better. Personally, I think staying away from the warming gel would have benefitted things you̢۪re showing a person who looks hurt and isolated, and cooler lighting is just more sterile and unbecoming of comfort. I would also second geinafets comment to lower the intensity a bit. Oh, and is that a remote in your hand? ;) Timer/other hand recommended.
All in all though, the score is warranted, as you̢۪ve met the challenge in a creative and interesting fashion, and what I̢۪ve noted are minor issues. Good job.

"A Penny For Your Thoughts"
by Jon_H

Comment:
Hello from the Critique Club-
The first thing that strikes me about this is that you have not made the chair a more important element in the photo. Some will vote you down for this, others could care less, but it is something to consider.
As far as technical details go, I think you have done a good job capturing her. I appreciate the softness to the image, and think it matches the mood of the photo/her pose well. Your background has been nicely blurred and is not distracting, keeping our attention focused where it should be. I agree with EL-ROI that there is too much empty space in the top left. I see her face, and then go back up to the empty area even though there is nothing there. I think I personally may have gone with a little bit more contrast, though that does go contrary to your more dreamy approach, so that would be a personal difference. One thing, though, that I think this would benefit from, is a slightly different pose for your daughter. The mostly closed but partially open mouth is just an awkward middle ground. While I appreciate your use of an off-frame gaze, I̢۪d like to see more of her eyes. Eyes are very important in photographs, and they help us connect as viewers. In this case, I think it might have increased our intrigue and curiosity. Overall, a solid portrait, especially when it comes to lighting, which is very even and pleasing.

hostas
by retake

Comment:
The shadow balances out the bright leaves nicely. Nice texture on foliage.

Egrets
by PennyStreet

Comment:
I think this is a pretty shot. At first it looked more like a puddle to me though, and I thought it was small scale, but then I saw the egrets and realized the actual size. I also like how they oppose each other.

Lady Rollissima's Wonderland
by gyaban

Comment:
Awesome shot, great concept. Did you consider using black thread at all?

Bridge of Flowers
by PennyStreet

Comment:
I'm liking this one. Great control of DoF. It's interesting how the foliage progresses from right to left, out of to into focus.

Skeeter Hawks
by MelonMusketeer

Comment:
Wow talk about a bumper crop of dragonflies.
We had quite a few in my area this year as well.
I like that you have a number of them up in the negative space of the sky for easy recognition, as well as some hovering a bit lower and against the vegetation.

World Trade Center Towers, c. 1973
by tvsometime

Comment:
This is really cool. The combination of the negative space and the leading lines works really well.

cloud formation
by pointandshoot

Comment:
I'm wondering if you're getting hammered in voting, but this is pretty cool. I like the minimalism.
(not voting)