The girl with the matches
by siggi

Comment:
Doesn't quite evoke images of poverty for me with such a clean, white sweater and fashionably cut hair. But the mysticism that surrounds it makes it seem that she is beyond that. Lovely color, focus and lighting.

Awakened on the Streets
by Brenb

Comment:
Beautiful colors and softness. Such a lovely face in these surroungs. Wonderful capture. 8

Once Upon A Time...
by aerogurl

Comment:
Yea, yea, yea! Congrats on your first ribbon! Whoo hoo!!!!

Bleak
by BigZenDragon

Comment:
While I love this shot and hope to shoot something similar one day, I'm afraid I just didn't understand what you were getting at. Maybe you were trying to say that this person has a bleak outlook on life? I plan on checking back once the challenge is over and seeing your comments. I'm sure this was quite difficult to shoot, but one thing that would have added to the appeal would have been to have seen more detail in the eye. The pupil and iris blend into each other and I would have like to have seen them more defined. Looking forward to your comments!

Happiness
by Alexys

Comment:
Returning to make comments: I really like the composition of this shot. You have done an excellent job of capturing your model looking playful and happy. The two elements about this shot that I didn't like are 1) the almost surreal-looking green grass in the foreground and (2) the odd, triangle shape extending from her back. The reason the color of the grass didn't work for me is that is such an earthy-natural looking pose. The grass in the foreground took some of that away for me. As for that triangle shape, I'm guessing that it's just her other arm or shoulder, but it just looks very peculiar and I kept looking at it and wondering what it was. I'd much rather be looking at her beautiful smile that thinking, "what is that thing?" When I put my thumb over that portion of the shot, I like it so much more. Good work. Kudos to your lovely model.

"Dimples"
by sfarrell23

Comment:
Returning for comments: The focus and the expression of the model captured here are wonderful, but I'm not crazy about the composition. If you were to shoot this again, I would recommend you try the following: 1) crop out as much of the shirt as possible and all of the sunglasses. The tones of the skin and the shirt are very similar and then there are these large, black circles at the top of the frame. I kept looking up at them. 2) shoot this horizontally so that you can isolate as much of the mouth and the dimples as possible. 3) use stonger, off-center lighting to accentuate the shadows caused by the dimples. I would leave the model's head cocked to the side, however, as I like the querky sense of humor that it conveys. Please post your results if to choose to shoot this again!

Opposable Thumb
by GeneralE

Comment:
Returning for comments: I struggled with this one. After looking at this photo for quite a while, and finally recognizing that the model was holding a bone, I realized that you were tring to say that a human being's defining feature is the opposable thumb. What would have improved this photo greatly for me would have been to have a more recognizable bone - like one of those big knuckle bones that you can purchase for dogs in pet stores. Also, I know that it might be cliche' but the photo would make more sense to me if a big, burly, hairy, caveman like guy were holding the bone. This small, delicate hand made it difficult for me to understand what you were trying to convey. Lastly, I would have used a little more light to help dispell some of the shadow under the fingers. Your idea was excellent, but refining the execution would make this a much stronger shot.

Love In Her Eyes
by jbeazell

Comment:
Returning to make comments: Bravo to you for technical excellence. I'm quite sure this shot will find its way into the top three. I especially like the use of the very shallow DOF to keep our attention on the in-focus lashes surrounding the iris of the eye. I'm glad you avoided using selective desaturation on this shot. I think the emphasis would have been too "in your face." Besides, I appreciate the simplicity of B&W used here. My personal preference would have been to have seen a little more contrast to make the pupil black, but perhaps this wasn't possible due to the subtle tones on the skin. Either way, this is excellent work. 9.

Something About Those Eyes
by Damian

Comment:
Returning to make comments: This remindes me of old shots of Audrey Heburn and other glam film stars from the 1940's. Only two thinks kept me from giving this a 10. (1) the shine on the nose was slightly distracting. All that pancake makeup in the 40's keep the stars from showing any shine, and (2) there is a big white fleck of dust or fuzz along the bottom border. Aside from that, the "mysterious" placement of the face, the bit of hair obscuring the right eye, and the strong lighting all work well for me. Excellent work. 9

Resourceful Redhead
by dsidwell

Comment:
Returning to make comments: There's a lot I like about this photo. The auburn hair and pale skin play against eachother very well. The vibrance of the eyes, which you can tell are naturally this bright from the subtle color variances, are specially shocking. While I enjoy the glow the skin, I would like to have seen the freckles and the eybrows preserved more. The composition in the left 2/3rds is very strong, but I feel as if the right eye is lost in all this wonderful porcelain skin. Keeping that eyebrow I think would have solved this for me. Very lovely. 9