"The Neighborhood Squares"by
christyrackComment by dsidwell: Hi Christy! Greetings from the Critique Club!
I concur with all of the compliments below!
In this shot, i see four children having a good time. Any time you can take a shot of folks having a good time is a worthwhile shot in my book. This shot certainly meets the challenge; right angles are present and easily visible.
The lighting appears quite bright, yet without harsh shadows, so you must have taken the shot during an overcast sky or perhaps in the shadow of some other building. Taking this shot at the time you did paid off with a pleasant highlight/shadow relationship. One thing to look at here may be your color saturation, or simply making the shot darker to capture some inviting tones. It appears slightly washed out from the greens of the grass to the reds of a couple of the shirts. I'm not sure what post processing software you have, if any, but you might want to revisit this shot and punch some of the colors, lower your levels to take down the highlights just a tad and deepen the shadows--or simply make it darker. It may have been just a little overexposed. That's my main suggestion for this shot.
Your composition is good, and I like the high point of view. Someone mentioned the pebbles at lower left, and I suppose they could detract somewhat to some people. Likewise with the curb at upper right.
What you accomplished here outweighs its weaknesses, though. You've captured some kids having a good time, and you met the challenge to boot. The photo exudes joy and happiness and good times. it seems natural, despite the possible call to 'make faces.' It possesses a sense of whimsy, as you meet the challenge, but in a unique and fun way.
Thanks for the look!
If you have questions for me, I'm happy to respond.
David
Photographer found comment helpful.