In The Smithy
by GeneralE

Comment:
I don't think the soft focus helps here. I'd also like to see some action, as the metal is at striking temperature, and the smith needs to work it before it goes back into the forge, or gets too cold to work.

If something was happening, I'd find the lack of any point of focus more acceptable.

The future is spotless... can't change the past.
by tpmccallum

Comment:
The largest improvement would be the lack of the lower hand. I'd like to see a bit more modelling too, but that's not as distracting as the hand; which both grabs the eye, and takes work to identify.

How Eating Disorders Begin
by bcrants

Comment:
This is a really well executed concept, and the lack of head adds to the power of the shot. The low-key aspects of the shot, and the wide gamut of tone/zone inside the image are handled well. The strain of body to make the model in the mirror look, "fat" adds to the effect.

the decisive moment
by ubique

Comment:
I'd like to see the mid-point shifted up, just a bit, to get a little more detail in the hands of the active player, but the sense of life in the picture is really affecting.

Tools of the Trade
by fldave

Comment:
The tension in the arms and waist work really well. They mirror the fall of the sparks. The curved lines of the tool, the body and the shower stand in contrast to the straight lines of the object the cutting tool is working on, and the surroundings.

Bride Bouquet
by StickInMind

Comment:
The middle is murky, and the subject is ill-defined. I can't tell what I am supposed to be looking at, and nothing in the frame really leads me to anything. The flowers are the dominant thing in the frame, but they lack the detail to keep my eye.

The folded hands pose questions, but the young person in the foreground sort of pushes everything else out of the way, without telling me anything.

Moon Over Miami
by JuliBoc

Comment:
It's painfully high-key. The hands, as a result, blur; distractingly, into the sky. I think more, of the head, or none, is needed. The small bit of hair is either too much, or not enough. I don't know if it's really workable in the framework of the challenge (the back of the head is above the neck, after all is said and done).