El Vaquero
by FtWorthphotog

Comment:
Coming back to comment now after bumping this up a notch.

What really makes the shot is that brilliant smile shining from under the brim of the cowboy hat. The pose with his arms/hands are wrapped around his chest/belly makes me think he is reacting to something he found very funny which just adds to the mood of the shot. I do have one critique and that is I wish that the lighting was more even. There are blown highlights on the right side of this Vaquero that extends to portions of his sleeves on the folded arms.

my boy :)
by Giles

Comment:
Voted earlier coming back to comment.

He has a great smile! I wish you showed us more of his winning smile by zooming/cropping closer to his face. There is just a little too much background that dominates the scene. A square crop that would end just bellow the shoulders and just above the head would truly allow that cheek to cheek smile to shine. B&W would also help this portrait shine even more because the color clash of the muted orange of the shirt against the forest greens of the backdrop draw attention away from your main focus.

A laugh is a smile that bursts.
by MinsoPhoto

Comment:
Voted earlier coming back to comment.

Great catch lights that add a twinkle to her eyes to match that merry smile. Love the title for it compliments this portrait of this happy girl. Love the lighting for we see all the great details of her face (the balance of light and shadows are perfect). Well done.

My Smile for Friday
by SandyP

Comment:
Voted earlier coming back to comment.

Love the wind blown look for it projects a carefree mood -a perfect compliment to childhood. A very lovely portrait of this little girl.

Born On The Bayou
by Cory

Comment:
Way to go Cory! The lighting on this little guy is fabulous. The little gator resting on the lilypad definitely gives a good sense of scale (heh, pun intended) of how small he is. Shark Valley has been on my radar for at least two years but we never seem to get out that way for something always comes up. One day though...

a simile as bright as the sun
by bspurgeon

Comment:
Voted earlier coming back to comment.

This photo is all curls, a twinkle in the eyes and a great big sunshine smile. Love the B&W treatment for it allows the emotion to sparkle and shine. Great capture of a happy and very, cute little girl. Well done - I can very well see this in the top 10.

la giaconda
by tanguera

Comment:
First, let me say that your lighting, the model pose, costume and even the backdrop are very well done. It made me call up the picture of the Mona Lisa just to do a side by side comparison. I just love the play of light you captured for it is close to that of Leonardo's painting. I like how in your capture the clouds form a natural crown/halo around the subject. The smile though like the original is debatable. The left edge of the lips has that Sfumato 'effect' but the right does not have quite enough of the soft shadows that would balance it out as an elusive soft smile. There is something about the photo that has made me keep coming back to this photo to figure out what strikes me as odd. I think I finally may have figured it out and it rests in the proportions of the lady's body. The hands appear to be out of proportion to her upper body and head. I think that is an illusion caused by the play of the light AND that the hands are resting more forward away from the body such that they fool my eye into thinking they are a bit larger. That aside, this is a great homage to the original Mona Lisa.

Smiling over simple things
by AllenP

Comment:
Voted earlier coming back to comment.

This is the second time viewing and each time I still get the joyful voice in my head, "I got watermelon!". Love her toothy gring:-) Great capture - such a summertime, fun photo. Tis indeed brings back my childhood memories of fun running through sprinklers and eating cool watermelon at my cousin's house at the height of some scorching summers.

Infectiously Yours
by jagar

Comment:
Voted earlier coming back to comment.

What a great photo! The smile and the mirth in the eyes makes me think that he is on the edge of breaking out into a joyful laugh. Your B&W tones are fabulously dynamic! Well done all around.

my dad laughing
by timfythetoo

Comment:
Voted earlier coming back to comment.

B&W tones are fabulous! Great smiling laugh - it makes me wonder what was so funny to make him crack up with laughter. Wonderful capture of emotion that I am sure will be a treasure in the family album:-) Hope to see this in the top 5.