New life budding
by Kelli

Comment by chalice:
You have taken on a tall order here, IMHO. You have a relatively small, dark green subject matter with a large bright background. While the colors in the background are pretty, they are competing with the new bud. I think I would have tried a different angle and/or used the dodge and burn tools (if permitted in this challenge) to strengthen the bud and diminish the background. Things that I like are the sharp focus on the bud (right down to the little nodules on the stem) and the lighting on the bud. I think a vertical cropping might help since your bud is a vertical object (the horizonal picture does not support the 'direction' of the primary subject, whereas a verticle picture might).

Profiles of Purple
by Kelli

Comment by jekershner7:
Looks a bit grainy and out of focus

Jenna
by Kelli

Comment by wavelength:
Hola! Greetings from the Critique Club!

Hey, I know how hard it is to photograph kids, I have three of them, and they're all boogers. I just entered one in a current challenge that is being less than well recieved, just as this one was.

I think the lighting could use some work, it's hard to get babies to look where you want, but letting the eyes shine and connect to the viewer is essential to portraits, I'm learning.

Keep trying, studio portraits are difficult to get spot on, especially if you have no lighting and the subject is a little one. You might look at picking up some slave flashes that fire when the flash on your camera goe off. Work on posing and lighting, with a dummy if you have to. :O)

New life budding
by Kelli

Comment by nards656:
Wow! There's some serious color in this one :) The only negative part of that is that the color is all in the background, and the subject is pretty dark. Keeping all that saturation in the back would have been great, but maybe a teensy bit of fill flash on the bud itself would have given this one a lot more kick. I didn't vote on this but would have probably dished out a 5 or 6. It's also a little bit "static" because it's centered. I really love the color, though!!

New life budding
by Kelli

Comment by Melethia:
Fits the challenge well and the subject is in sharp focus, but the subject is also overwhelmed by the brightness of the background. I love the overall color of the picture.

Profiles of Purple
by Kelli

Comment by Joy Moore:
IMHO More yellow would have been nice...I like the back lighting though.

New life budding
by Kelli

Comment by ericwoo:
I thnk that Dr Achoo hit the nail on the head. While I ma not a stickler for the "rules" of photography, the rule of thirds would serve this shot well. The lighting is somewhat harsh, and using some fill flash and a quicker shutter speed might help to isolate your subject from that busy background. It does seem over-saturated, but I am not sure that the red dots aren't there anyway. Overall, not bad, but still room for improvement.

Profiles of Purple
by Kelli

Comment by raish:
Lack of complement

Profiles of Purple
by Kelli

Comment by shanky_pec:
good shot
but be more sharp focus

Profiles of Purple
by Kelli

Comment by macrothing:
5 - Nice and good potential. More yellow, especially to 'complement' the 'purple' of the azaleas, make this better in my opinion. Also looks a little too close/blurred and possibly a bit of grain. A more refined crop would also have likely given this a little extra, again in my opinion.