January Sales Circa 2006
by kevrobertson

Comment by Trizia Hunt:
This is a wonderful shot! I should be so lucky one day...
Looks like I need to return to Ireland (home) to get something like this! Rock on mate!

Valentine Card
by kevrobertson

Comment by armsts:
Nice idea. Some of the ribbon is distracting - doesn't feel cohesive.

Valentine Card
by kevrobertson

Comment by Gallatin:
Beautiful

Valentine Card
by kevrobertson

Comment by marklovell:
First Impressions:
Nice image. I can see what you are aiming for, and I think you've got there.

Lighting:

Generally pretty good. The lighting on the heart boxes(?) looks about right, but if anything the ribbons look a little hot. I'm assuming this was flash, so you'd only really have decent control if you shot in RAW. Would the hearts have survived any less light? There's no burnout on the mirror, which is good. Perhaps some backlight would have helped? Maybe a slave flash?

Focus/DOF:

Seems pretty sharp most of the way through. Part of me wonders whether this would look good as a more 'dreamy' image, with a much shallower depth of field. As a card, however, it could well not look right.
It appears to me that the 'mount' for the photo (i.e. the border) is an out of focus duplicate of the photo itself, which I think is about right. It has the right colours and feel, and has a presence without being too distracting.

Color:

On the whole seems good. There is an even balance, without looking too bland. The colours aren't muted, but at the same time not over-saturated. I've never been a fan of that 'metallic' red you get on those trinket boxes and the like, but there's obviously very little you could do about that.

Composition:

It feels good. Couple of nitpicks however. I would prefer to see all of the ribbon in the upper right part of the image. It feels a bit squashed.
I also would have tried to have the boxes facing the other way to try to avoid the shadow around the lids. Although having said that, there may have been something on the lids you were trying to avoid.
My only other issue with the picture is the 'heart' watermark. I think it's cracking on the 'mount' but think it's too distracting on the photo itself. I also feel that it would look better either entirely level, or a lot more 'on the skew', so it looks completely intentional (which I'm sure it was).

Meeting the Challenge:

It does that. The rules were very non-specific, but it definitely covers them. It feels very valentine's-ey, and has a warm feel to it. I'd probably buy it in a shop as a card. So I guess that means it fits your intentions pretty well too.

Hope it does well for you.

Mark

Valentine Card
by kevrobertson

Comment by steelhorse:
The first thing that comes to mind here is...well done. The second is...OVER done. Everything is just a little TOO much. I think I would have liked this shot a lot better without the blurred decorative border. Let the objects speak for themselves. They're nicley and dynamically arranged. As a photograph, they already have interesting things to say. The border and the screened back text scream to me..."I'm not just a photographer! I"m also a Graphic Designer!" That's not a bad thing, necessarily, but in this case, it detracts.

Valentine Card
by kevrobertson

Comment by KarenNfld:
Pretty, I like the border/background a lot

Valentine Card
by kevrobertson

Comment by Melethia:
Nice postprocessing work!

Valentine Card
by kevrobertson

Comment by philup:
Very nice! 10

Valentine Card
by kevrobertson

Comment by persimon:
Very classy in a greeting card sort of way. I love the colors and textures.

Valentine Card
by kevrobertson

Comment by sherpet:
What a lot of work, but worth it as this is good....."WOW" factor from me.