Stir it in
by asussy

Comment:
very different and creative!

Sympathy...
by docpjv

Comment:
*Critique Club*

I too feel that this should have scored higher. This is a beautiful and delicate representation of a sympathy card. I love the processing that you did--excellent job! I wouldn't change a thing. I have no idea why this did not score in the high 6 range. I just don't get it. Sorry I couldn't give you a better critique. I really don't see anything at all I would change. Better luck next time I guess.

Mandy

Thank You
by owen

Comment:
*Critique Club*

Flowers are a great choice for Thank You cards. They are pretty and simple. I like the fact that you used ONE flower instead of a whole bunch. I read your comments and I am having a hard time seeing where you DE-SATURATED the photo? The colors of the greenery in the background is a nice bright green. The only problem I have with the BG is that some of it is in focus and some of it isn't. It would have been more appealing if it was one or the other. The actual bloom is extremely over-saturated to the point it looks painted. It does not look natural. I think that is what hurt your score the most. Oversaturating to make colors brighter and more vivid is good, but sometimes we can go too far and it looks fake. I think that is what happend here. It doesn't even look like it belongs in this photo, it looks like a piece of clip art that you pasted there. Photo processing can add so much appeal to a photo. But sometimes, I think most of the time with something as simple and naturally beautiful as a flower, it is best to leave the natural colors nature has blessed the bloom with.

I hope this was helpful, good luck in future challenges.

Mandy

I miss you
by silverleaf

Comment:
*Critique Club*

Cute Kid! Her clothes are adorable and they go great with the background. This picture is sort of a snapshot. What you could have done to make it more appealing would have been to take the picture from the same point of view, just include all of her in the photo-all the way down to the ground. You cropped it in a little too close on the sides I think. Her BIG brown eyes make your heart melt! This would have been so much better with a different perspective. Cute picture, just not a greeting card type photo. Good luck in future challenges and remember to try different angles to get the best look.

Mandy

Friendship
by bcoble

Comment:
*Critique Club*

A yellow rose representing frienship is perfect. I do however see many ways you could improve this photo. For starters, the background has weird blue patches of color in it. Roses are beautiful flowers, but not all of them. The rose that you choose to photograph should be picture perfect. It should have no flaws and be perfectly shaped. Your rose looks more narrow than round and it has a petal on the bottom that should have been picked off.

I would have also reduced the noise in this photo.

If you are going to put your subject off-center, leave a little more negative space on the opposite side. It looks better that way, IMO.

I also think that the image would have been better if you photographed the rose from a different angle, maybe from looking down on it.

I hope this helped you some, these opinions are just opinions after all. If it is bad advice then just ignore me. :) Good luck in future challenges!

Mandy

Morebuck$
by muur88

Comment:
winner!

Loaf & Friendship - Missing your loaf...
by ajschel

Comment:
*Critique Club*

Nice colors and compostion. I like all of the different textures in the bread. I think what hurt you in this challenge is that some of the voters didn't get it. I still don't. Is it supposed to mean, "Missing your love?" It went right over my head. I do like the soft lighting in this picture too. It is very nice. This picture makes me hungry. I do not think about friendship or love when I look at it--just food. I really don't know what else to say....I do like the photo very much, I even think you could sell it very easily. Maybe not to a greeting card company, but this would make a fantastic photograph to hang in a bakery!

Good luck in future challenges

Mandy

Friendship
by TommyMoe21

Comment:
*Critique Club*

The details that you captured in the birds is amazing. I can see the texture of almost every feather. The compostion, well.....not a fan. It looks like one bird with two heads. You goofed a little on the gaussian blur selections. You should have feathered your selection a little to limit the harsh outline of your birds. Nice picture, just practice some more on your editing skills for future challenges.

Mandy

Bon Voyage!
by neophyte

Comment:
*Critique Club*

This photo really didn't do much for me. There is nothing that makes me want to give it a second look. It is not a "bad" photo, I just think that you could have spiced it up a little to make it more appealing. It would have been better if He was actually driving the motocycle instead of being parked. He is just sitting there and it looks very posed and staged.

It would have been better if he was driving fast and you captured the motion blurs on the background but the bike and the rider was in focus. It would also have been funny if his mouth was wide open like he was screaming or if he had a hudge smile on his face, or even if you could have shown where the wind was blowing his skin on his face back. I don't know if any of those ideas would have been better but it never hurts to let you imagination flow for a while first and then try to capture that on camera. When you come up with an idea for a challenge, don't shoot it right away. Think about it for a while and elaborate that idea into something bigger.

I don't think that the selective desat worked with this photo. When you use that technique, it should be so the viewer focuses on what you want them to notice. You kept the yellow line? This is not a point of interest. You kept the color in the bike? - It is already black. The only color that really stands out is the riders skin.

I hope this was helpful, if not, I am sorry. I do my best.

Mandy

Inspirational
by Zoomdak

Comment:
*Critique Club*
What bothers me most about this image is the plants that are blurry and the amount of foilage framing the photo. I think that if the foilage was just on one side of the picture and it was only a small amount showing it would be better. I wish that you could have zoomed in more on the mountain so it would have been very clear to the viewer that it is your subject. The mountain is beautiful but it is so small? What you frame your subject with should be in focus, IMO.

Mandy