Unexpected Birthday Surprise
by Coley

Comment by vtruan:
Critique Club review:

Hi Cole,

I loved this shot. Not only did the shot hit the mark on the challenge, but we had a late 40+ child 10 months ago, so it hit home. The challenge was met well.

The set-up and subject were great. The overall cropping was right on. Bringing the subject in closer (womans face) was perfect and her expression made the shot. The modifiers; the box, bithday note, and tester were lined up nicely too. Colors all appear to work well with no distractions anywhere. The contrasts are nice, especially her hair. DOF was done quite well.

The only down fall, and only slightly, would be the flash. The shadow on the face from the glasses, and reflections of the glasses are a bit distracting, but like I said, minimally. The light from the light above worked and maybe a reflected light on the face would have made a bit different look.

Overall you made a great shot. It was humerous, especially to me a 50+er with a young'un.

I hope this helped a bit. Keep up the fun and shots.

Van

Sisters ... Soft and Strong
by Coley

Comment by dagaleaa:
beautiful soft photo...I really like the composition too....two beautiful young ladies...

Sisters ... Soft and Strong
by Coley

Comment by Spork99:
Great expressions, pose and use of diffusion. I think that some fill from the left would bring out the dark haired girl's face and I wish you had cropped the bottom a bit, at least to remove the chair backs.

Sisters ... Soft and Strong
by Coley

Comment by jmsetzler:
I like the pose in this photo. The lighting doesn't work well for me... I'm not really sure why... it feels cold maybe... maybe somewhat contradictory with 'soft focus' in my own interpretation of it.. your soft focus is excellent though :)

Four Hearts
by Coley

Comment by Latingringo:
Great Pic! It shows lots of love in this family. I would give u a 10 if i could!

Four Hearts
by Coley

Comment by Dave Gordon:
Looks more like eight hands, but it's a nice idea and a nice composition.

Four Hearts
by Coley

Comment by kimd:
i love the hearts, very ingenious!!!! You are so creative, i think i would have had a hairlesshand volunteer for the fourth heart though! no offensive, but really look at those knuckles UUUUUggggggghhhhhhh! The nails don't give your profession away at all. Other than the obvious roofer hands, the pic is great. love ya

Sisters ... Soft and Strong
by Coley

Comment by hughletheren:
Very attractive sibling portrait - excellent title and use of soft focus - should do really well.

Sisters ... Soft and Strong
by Coley

Comment by Artifacts:
A good studio image with nice expressions on your subjects. This image would be improved if the girl on the left had the same lighting on her as the girl on the right. They are both of equal importance in this image.

Four Hearts
by Coley

Comment by micklepickle:
creative, well done