Wendy at the park
by dRock

Comment:
Hey there from the Critique Club

Camera Work/Technical: Well, after 3 and a half years of waiting, this is a pretty nice entry. It looks like your focal point is nicely placed, and I like your depth of field use. i can see just enough detail in the background ot know what I am looking at, yet the blurring prevents it from competing with the subject for my eye's attention.

Lighting: I do like the start that you had with your lighting here. However, I thin that you could have added just a bit more fill light to her right side as well as closed that aperture just a bit to keep the hot spot off of her hair. The light falls off just a little too much leaving her right hand a bit too dark for my taste.

Composition/Content: I really like how this image has been composed. The crop keeps enough background, yet really serves to accentuate the subject.

My Opinion: I like it, but I'd like some slight lighting changes. Even still, I feel that 5.4 was a little low for this one.

Thank you for the opportunity to provide a critique on your entry,
Eric

Mother Nature working against us.
by tmmac_9

Comment:
Hey there from the Critique Club

Camera Work/Technical: I like the detail you captured here with the blown ice crystals. The image looks really cold, yet keeps the warm tones of the fruit. I do think the primary focal point should be more on the cherries rather than the crystals to the left, and I'd like to see that group of ice and cherries better isolated, perhaps with a colored paper sheet or something.

Lighting: I disagree that the lighting looks flat. I see good range from black all the way over to whites. I like the little catch lights you captured on teh surface of the cherries.

Composition/Content: The frame is a little too busy for my taste, so I'd like to see more isolation with the fruit and ice that is near it.

My Opinion: 5.66 is a decent score, and I think that the score fits this image well. With a little more subject isolation and a little adjustment of the focal point, I could see this one touching or breaking 6.

Thank you for the opportunity to provide a critique on your entry,
Eric

Lemon Drop
by photomikey

Comment:
Hey there from the Critique Club

Camera Work/Technical: Reading through the comments, I'll just echo that focus is way off. I'll agree with Sarah that the aperture need not be so small.

Lighting: Nicely lit to produce an interesting graduation of white and yellow.

Composition/Content: The content is unoriginal and has been shot lots here. I do like your choice to shoot the yellow subject on a yellow background, but I think that also added to your focusing issues using autofocus.

My Opinion: Paired with the commonality of this subject on DPC (I've even shot one similar with an orange), the focus combination was enough to kill the score. I agree with the placement.

Thank you for the opportunity to provide a critique on your entry,
Eric

Angelic
by JimiRose

Comment:
Hey there from the Critique Club

Camera Work/Technical: Excellent focus on the eyes. This is where many portraits miss the mark, but you hit this one spot on. I also like the tones you captured. The background coloring is particularly interesting to me and provides a very calm, reassuring feeling...for some reason.

Lighting: Great use of backlight, but, in a agreeing with Scott, she needs just a little bit of fill light on her face. A reflector, sheet of paper, or even a second flash would have really brought out her features and made those catch lights pop.

Composition/Content: Very interesting composition. I like the angle you chose for this image, as well as the very tight crop. I also like the backgorund that you left, even with cropping her as tightly as you did.

My Opinion: More contrast and a little fill light is all that this one was missing. The voters may have been a little harsh with the sub-5 score, but we've all gotten those before. Low score or not, this was a great start to a very nice image.

Thank you for the opportunity to provide a critique on your entry,
Eric

Floral Kicker
by wdamman

Comment:
Hey there from the Critique Club

First of all, congratulations on a new personal best. That's always such a good feeling, and here a well-deserved one.

Camera Work/Technical: You achieved a very nice crispness to your image that keeps my eye moving to and fro to take in all of the smallest details. I like that. You also did a nice job capturing some nicely contrasting colors.

Lighting: I agree with Karen. This one has a great glow that you created with nicely used backlight. I can't wait to see what you do with your new Christmas present.

Composition/Content: I like the compositon that you created here, and I don't think that I would have changed anything about this particular shot. While I usually deter myself away from the 'rules' of photography, your rule0of-thirds use also does a noce job to keep my eye moving through the frame.

My Opinion: 6.14 is a strong score, and this image is deserving of it. Your creativity is a touch lacking, and I think that your overall score may have suffered from the commonality of the subject. There were bunches of Gerber Daisies used in this challenge. Even still, you pulled off the execution to a T. Nice work, and once again, congratulations on a new personal best score.

Thank you for the opportunity to provide a critique on your entry,
Eric

The War Effect
by Seer

Comment:
Hey there from the Critique Club

Camera Work/Technical: I think that you started with a strong idea, but the end execution of the shot just never fell into place. I understand wanting a nice, shallow depth of field to lose some of the background's distraction, but your primary focal plane fell onto an area of the image with very little interest. It seems that the focus of the image is the black tie wrap at the bottom of the flag. It is the natural tendency of the viewer's eye to stop at the focal point. It is the job of the photographer to place that focal point at a strong point of interest. I think that I would have closed that aperture down a bit and tried to catch more of the tattered flag in focus.

Lighting: Your lighting created some very interesting shadows, but the tones look a bit flat to me. I think if you had added a curves adjustment to this capture you would have seen a dramatic increase in your score even with the less than perfect composition. I shot this one into PS and added a curves layer, a warming filter, and a small border. Here is what I came up with in just a minutes time:

I think that these simple adjustments add a great deal of a dramatic feeling to the image. I have this one stored in my workshop, thus no one will just run across it while browsing. Let me know if you want me to pull it out as I realize that some photographers are more protective than others with their copyrighted works.

Composition/Content: Terrific point of view, but, as Denis mentioned, the background is very, very distracting. Against the sky, I think that you have an entirely different capture. Even with the shallow depth of field, the background competes very hard for my eye's attention. Add to that the leading lines of the background and my eye is led right out of the frame no matter where I try to look.

My Opinion: This is a first entry. Those are often the toughest. Voters here like bright shiny things that meet the challenges without the need for a title. Political statements can often be detrimental to the image no matter what statement is being made. I like the idea, I just think that the execution needed more attention. As it is, I think that 4.79 is about right for this image.

Thank you for the opportunity to provide a critique on your entry,
Eric

Sunset Light
by Jessi

Comment:
Hey there from the Critique Club

Camera Work/Technical: The right eye is crisp, but, as Ron mentioned, the overall image seems to be too soft. I think that this may be a product of that lens you use. Start saving those monies that you get from those paid shoots and start looking to upgrade. I also agree with Steve the wide angle makes the face look distorted and unnatural.

Lighting: I do like your use of backlighting, but the image tones seem very flat. This one needs a good deal more contrast and maybe even a small touch of fill flash.

Composition/Content: Again, either your lens or the angle you took to get the shot makes the face look distorted. I looked through your other images from this shoot, and shooting from above works best for her face shape.

My Opinion: I do have to disagree with Ray here and say that the image, at least as it is, scored pretty close to where I would have scored it. You did meet the challenge, but your execution and choice of subjects could have been a great deal stronger. I don't think its your eye for shooting, I just think that you were set on getting an image to enter into the challenge. You have some really nice captures from this same shoot, just none that would have fit this particular challenge.

Thank you for the opportunity to provide a critique on your entry,
Eric

Rays of Light
by kaiser_chief

Comment:
Hey there from the Critique Club

Camera Work/Technical: I can tell that the focus on the image is ok, but the haloing around the lighthouse really takes away from any quality that the image may have had. I also think that you did the scene an injustice by taking desating the red channel. The image looks very cold, though my eye wants to think it should look warm.

Lighting: The lighting of the sunset or sunrise is spectacular on its own, but my eye jumps right back to the lighthouse. I am not sure if it was dodging or some other adjustment, but the lighthouse looks very unnatural.

Composition/Content: I do like your composition. Every element serves to help the image flow, as well as keeping the eye moving through and exploring the frame.

My Opinion: I think that the voters were fairly generous with your end score. There are obviously several technical flaws that kept this image from reaching its full potential.

Thank you for the opportunity to provide a critique on your entry,
Eric

Sweet Tooth
by BMIIVJ

Comment:
Hey there from the Critique Club

First of all, welcome to the challenges!! I see it took about a year, but welcome nonetheless.

Camera Work/Technical: The tones you captured are very true-to-life and the coloring is nice. I do agree with Sandra that your focus could have been a bit sharper. In addition, I'd like to see your depth of field a good deal more shallow...or shallower...no, no, more shallow. You'd definitely add interest to the subject of the image if you blurred that background more.

Lighting: The lighting isn't bad, though I'd prefer a touch more contrast. That is strictly opinion, though. I do like the catch lights that you caught in the eyes, and sharper focus on the face would have accentuated these even more.

Composition/Content: Your composition adds interest to the image, though I'd like to see a bit more of mom's arm. I think that your idea of having the kids fight over the candy would have worked a little better. As this one is shot, the arm tends to lead my eye out of the frame rather than in and toward the child. With more of a leading line, read more of the arm's length, I think would have served better to draw the eye in.

My Opinion: I agree with your assessment in that this one is a stretch for the challenge. I understand that these entries are sometimes crazy-difficult, but the voters tend to hit images that they feel fall short of the spirit of the challenge the hardest. While it is a low score, it is also a fine place to start. You entered the challenge and got a feel for what the voters want to see (though that changes from minute to minute around here). 4.1 is a fairly accurate score for an image that most of your commenters felt was a bit of a shoehorn.

Thank you for the opportunity to provide a critique on your entry,
Eric

Wind
by choltmeier

Comment:
Hey there from the Critique Club

Camera Work/Technical: Excellent use of depth of field, and the main focal plane is exactly where my eye thinks that it should be.

Lighting: I really like the backlighting that you achieved here, though I'd like to see this one exposed just a touch more. I think that I'd like it better with the backlight stronger, as well as seeing the highlights of her profile a little more.

Composition/Content: Your composition and content both provide a good deal of interest to your capture. When I first glanced at it, my thought was "wow, she's hot." Then I read the description. She really is close to looking real. Studying the details of the image makes it a little more apparent that she is just too good to be true.

My Opinion: I like the image and I like your execution. Looking through the other images in the challenge, I think that you were scored and placed appropriately. Well seen and well captured.

Thank you for the opportunity to provide a critique on your entry,
Eric