The Birds
by illini75

Comment:
Voted earlier coming back to comment.

I get that you were trying to channel Hitchcock's The Birds. The color and hue of the sky is foreboding and spooky. Unfortunately the birds don't project any sense of doom or danger. The orientation in the same direction lends itself more to a migration. Also and same bird & pose just in different sizes projects repetition and uniform pattern. Most formations will have the birds looking distintively different either because of angle or position of wing. For this composition to project danger or foreboding the birds really needed to be oriented like they were coming for the viewer, eyes glaring and maybe some open beaks. Not an easy task to capture a bird looking and flying straight at you, but that is what was needed to make it sinister.

Feeling a bit sluggish
by Mona

Comment:
Voted earlier coming back to comment.

Hmmm, I would say this pumpkin is more puzzled than sluggish:-) Those jigsaw puzzle eyes are unique and way cool. The thing this composition needs most is attention to lighting. Lighting is way too harsh that it does not allow for any shadows to exist in the inside of the pumpkin. What happens is that the facial features of the pumpkin doesn't visually pop and stand out. I suggest that the light source is turned down/moved further away and/ or that you adjust the aperture and shutter speed to get a better balance of light and shadow.

Treat or Trick on fire
by navegante76

Comment:
Voted earlier coming back to comment.

Now that is a unique way to roast your pumpkin seeds:-) But seriously, great face on the pumpkin and great capture of the flames. The composition I feel would be more visually appealing if you zoomed in or cropped closer to the flaming pumpkin. There is just too much negative space that it is floating in. Bring your audience closer to your main subject so that I/we can see more details. My last suggestion is that the large flame and light seen through the pumpkin face has the highlights blown out. You could use a larger aperture and faster shutter speed to see if you can better capture some detail/contrast in the flames/light (you might have to experiment by bracketing the exposure time/aperture to see what works best).

Ghostling
by RKT

Comment:
Voted earlier coming back to comment.

I like the 'texture' overlay of the grain and scratches for it adds to the eerie mood and gives an otherworldly sense. The world of ghosts and apparitions are seen best as 'a haze' that emerges from the darkness. This apparition emerges from the darkness and is running/floating towards us screaming.

alas poor pumpkin!
by H-G

Comment:
Voted earlier coming back to comment.

Ah, a Halloween Hamlet:-) Lighting on the pumpkin, woman's head, and hands is well done. The drawback is the black long sleeve shirt she wears blends in so well with the black backdrop that her head and hands appear to be disembodied - at least that is how it appears on my P.C. but it may be different on a brighter screen laptop. Not sure about the thin orange outline border - I think it would do far better without the introduction of a new element that could draw some focus away from the main subjects. I have one suggestion that could make the image even more visually appealing. Had the model held up the pumpkin higher than her head she would have to be looking up at it. This would allow us to see her eyes. As it is here her eyes are downcast and with the shadow that falls in that area it would help if her eyes were open such that the whites of the eyes give greater contrast.

Walking around a graveyard on Halloween is a good idea......right?
by Pompouspete

Comment:
Voted earlier coming back to comment.

The focus and detail on the angel statue is great. The composition needs a little more work to make it shine. The backdrop is way to busy to allow the angel to visually pop. I see that you tried to get a great DOF by having the backdrop blurry. Maybe it just needed an even smaller aperture to get it even more blurred. The other thing to try is maybe take it from a different angle - perhaps looking up at the angel so it is mostly on the backdrop of a blue sky. Lastly the daylight hours don't allow for a spooky or errie mood to be felt. Now I wouldn't want to be walking through a cemetary at night but you could lessen the bright sunny day aspect by playing with the color balance to adjust the hues to 'cooler' color/temperature...or even make it duotone with some cool blue hue/tones.

D E X T E R - | - Inspired by http://goo.gl/li5ag
by Cory

Comment:
Not familiar with the show/character, but the costume/get-up, pose, and backdrop is spot on. Lighting and details are extrodinary - though the reflections on the blade are rather hypnotic. Not sure how one would avoid that on such a reflective surface - perhaps a less reflective knife. As costumes go it is not as distinctive or iconic (like say vampires, ghosts or Sherlock Holmes) but one should never argue with a guy with a knife:-)

Soliloquy
by Bear_Music

Comment:
Great textures and detail on the headstone...though the way the light and shadows fall on the text it is a little hard to read. I wish there was greater DOF such that the backdrop was more blurred and fades into the background. It would have allowed the tombstone to visually pop more. The daylight hues cast the scene as more bright and airy which makes it rather difficult to get a spooky or even sad mood.

Edward Scissorhands
by ksierras

Comment:
Voted earlier coming back to comment.

Great costume! Homemade blades and jacket are great. Though it must have been very difficult to hold the Trick or Treat Bag:-) B&W really allows the subject to shine without distracting background colors.

Untitled
by Mike

Comment:
Voted earlier coming back to comment

Great backlighting - really pulls out the highlights on the hair all around the model. Great pose with the open mouth showcasing the fangs. And the eyes all black as night and feral. I guess the full moon is up and we should not stick around to watch the rest of the transformation unless we want to be dinner. Nice work.