Resilience
by mango

Comment:
The B&W REALLY calls the viewer's attention to the shapes and textures on the skin of this lizard. You have a very nice tonal range here that is very dynamic and not flat. I think you have a very strong composition here but there is one thing that you could do to strengthen the visual impact even more. Bring us closer to the main subject. Show us all the lovely details in the folds of the skin and the scales of this sleeping lizard by zooming in on it more or cropping closer such that it fills the frame. As it is here your main focus only dominates maybe 50-60 % of the composition . Bump it up to where your main focus dominates 85% and above (if you can) of the frame.

Strawberry Stock Exchange
by latentflip

Comment:
I guess putting stock in strawberries is a sweet investment:-) The colors of the reds & greens of the strawberry is very bold and it contrasts nicely off of the B&W printed newspaper on the stock market. I think where the composition could be stronger is increasing the DOF, better lighting and a tad bit of toning down on the saturation. First, depth of field in what details one sees in the background can be increased if you use a lower ISO (50-100) and higher aperture (6.3 or greater). Of course you will have to adjust shutter speed to get the correct exposure so that might mean you will need to use a tripod to avoid blur. By changing your camera setting to a higher aperture and lower ISO you will get greater detail in the background such that it will be much more legible/even readable. A more visible stock market page in the background will strengthen the connection of your theme/idea of a 'Strawberry Stock Exchange". Next is lighting. Half of the strawberry is in shadow. Changing the angle of lighting by using a simple desk light and shining it at the front of your main subject will get the shadow to fall behind it therefore showing us ALL the lovely colors and detail of this fruit. Or using a simple light tent will defuse/shatter the light & bounce it around such that there will be little to NO shadows which would improve the visual impact and make this image pop off the page. Super Simple Light Tent is an easy and in-expensive light tent. I DO like the colors of the strawberry but I think it is a tad too over-saturated. Bring down the saturation level a bit to make it look a bit more natural.

gradient.jpg
by kellian

Comment:
Wonderful details in the leaves of the main tree off on the left hand side of your composition. I really like the lovely natural hues of the sky blues and the grass greens on the right hand side. I don't think the gradiant shift from sepia-like tones to the natural colors of the scenery works all too well. One reason is because the shift from the natural colors to the sepia-brown tones leaves the viewer yearning for the color portion more. I find I'd much rather look at the right hand side of your composition than the lack of vibrant natural color seen on the left. The second is how well the elements play to the gradient shift. The portion of the large tree branches that would show the gradient shift well is too much in shadow to show any changes from sepia/browns to greens. Getting the right exposure such that the greens of the tree branches are vibrantly visible would assist in making the shift a bit more appealing because you will see the gradual fade more. The same thing can be said with the sky portion as that it fades from those lovely blues to a flat tone of an unassuming grey/brown. If there was some variation in the sky such as a cloud that would provide another element to show the shift it would increase the visual appeal. Lastly a change in the angle of the composition can add another aspect of visual appeal. This composition is shot straight on at level with the treeline. Composing the shot such that you take it from a lower angle (say 45 degrees or ground level) looking up will make that large tree on the left portion of your composition seem towering and majestic in height.

Top of the hill
by JaimeVinas

Comment:
Love those complementary shades of oranges and blues seen here in your composition. The color tones are vibrant and eye catching. There are two things that I think you could do to make this composition more appealing to the eye and visually pop more. First is the composition of elements. I think you tried to capture /show us a ‘path’ from the crevasse in the rock faces that ‘lead’ the eye visually to the tree. Problem is there is a deep shadow that distracts the eye away from the tree at the top of the hill. Time of day and lighting makes a huge impact on the composition and mood a photographer wants to portray and capture. Could you have perhaps come back to this location and taken it during a different time of day to avoid the deep shadows? If not then could you have shot from a different spot or even better angle to get the same effect of the lone tree at the top of this rock hill? Taking from a higher angle(?) from a higher vantage point looking down would perhaps show us more of the tree thereby making it more your focal point. Next is that I don’t see the camera info as to what ISO, aperture, and shutter speed you took this at but a lower ISO & higher aperture setting will get you some sharper details in the textures of the rocks and the tree not to mention a sharper DOF.

Tina
by CorySmith

Comment:
There is a nice warm golden light here shining on your main subject. She is bathed in warm tones that compliment her skin tone and the highlights in her hair. Her poise is a relaxed casual shot with a little bit of surprise because she seems to me to have looked up just as you snapped the shot. This is a good capture of a candid moment – caught as one would see it and not staged. I think the visual impact would be stronger if you cropped it better to compliment your subject or zoomed the camera in to bring us closer to your main subject. Fill the frame with more of your main focus, which is the lady soldier. She is the main focal point of your composition and you should show us more of her aglow in that golden light and less of the surroundings which really don’t add much to the shot. Cropping it to just below the butt of the rifle and at her extended knee will show us more of this woman of the battlefield by bringing her more to the front & center of the photo composition. You might also want to bump up the brightness and contrast to show more detail of her shirt, hands, and rifle that get lost a tad in the shadows.

Jones 2.JPG
by idnic

Comment:
I like the watercolor effect that you used here Cindi. The majority of the color hues in this portrait are pastel or light & airy which is very pleasing to the eye. It invokes the idea of a breezy spring day even though we don’t see that in a backdrop; we don’t see it but we feel it in the mood that the colors project. There is a strong sense of family togetherness in the poise of them all looking at each other and smiling. There are a couple of things I would recommend to implement so that the visual appeal has more impact. First the blue sky background just doesn’t work for this watercolor portrait. The reason being is because the ‘texture’ of it doesn’t match the ‘texture’ watercolor look & feel on the people in the portrait. It is more of a rough texture brush strokes rather than the smooth blending brush strokes on the people. If you can make the background a blue sky or blue sky with clouds (something to vary the tones rather than a flat one tone color) in the same brush strokes it would compliment the picture better. Next is that I think the fade at the corners doesn’t really compliment the picture – if it were done in a style of being an old time portrait that has faded over the years it would suit the mood better. I would carry the watercolor effect all the way out up to and including the edges. You already have a soft look and feel to the portrait with the watercolor texture I don’t think you need to carry that through to a fade to the edges. Lastly full whites without much tonal variation don’t work too well in the watercolor effect but if there are other elements to the uniform/clothes it could further define what would look like just a flat surface. The gentleman’s uniform in the picture appears mostly flat in tone and brush texture but I think some elements got lost that could help give it more definition. Where is the button down front of the uniform? I am expecting to see that but I don’t see that in the portrait (mayhap the uniform doesn’t have that). I would bring up the tones and contrasts in the metals you see on the right side of his uniform to add more definition and detail to his uniform. I have the same observation on the little girl’s dress in the picture – was she wearing a flat white dress or did it have some ‘textures’ such as a ribbed front or ribbon at the waist? If there was some texture to the material of the dress I would try to bring that out more in the ‘brush’ strokes. If not then one can either ‘add’ that in or mention to the clients who want a watercolor look to wear something with a bit of texture in the material or some tonal variations like the dress the mother is wearing.

noblefallswebquick.jpg
by Delta_6

Comment:
I love the sense of movement seen in the flow of water. Love the silkiness of the water as it flows over the rocks and down river - there is just something magical about that flow. This is a nice scenery shot but it could have more visual punch. First I think it would be better if you used a square crop for two reasons. First it would keep and focus our attention on the water flowing over the rocks thereby making that the main focal point of the shot as a whole. Second it would crop out the bottom third to just at those rocks at the bottom of the river - that movement of water and portion of the composition does nothing for the image as a whole. Matter of fact it detracts from the main focus - the lovely fall of the water over the rocks further upstream. Next, I think this photo can do with a tad bit more color saturation - not too much for you don't want it to go over into the oversaturation category. Bumping up the color saturation and a bit more contrast will make this photo have more richer tones that would increase the visual appeal.

Further than Far Away
by levyj413

Comment:
Absolute WOW! Love the the vibrant colors of the rainbow captured here. The level of detail is wonderful with the waterdrops/bubbles looking nice, crisp and clean. As visual eye candy goes this composition draws you in with it's nice level of details and those stunningly beautiful colors. I have nothing to critique! Well done.

Lighter Than Light
by JH

Comment:
Now that I am not obsessing over several challenge entries I wanted to stop by and leave a comment on this one that you posted in the thread titled "Why oh WHY can't it be easy?". As quite a few pointed out that the bg is too gray rather than the bright white I think you were going for. I like the idea but a bright white background and sharper detail on the light bulb would help this compositional idea tremendously. You might want to try building a simple & easy Super Simple Light Tent. Playing around with a smaller aperature (6.3 or higher) and slower shutter speed (1/10 to 1/60)will net you sharper details in your main subject and quite possibly get a brighter white depending on what background you use & lighting you use (be careful of the tungsten light bulbs for they can give a yellowish cast to the image). Another thing that I found instrumental is adjusting the WB on your camera. For a recent shoot I changed the White Balance from Auto to Custom and found that it got rid of the awful yellow tinge or flat tinge in the photo.

Evening Chores
by jasonlprice

Comment:
I sat this one out but went browsing (no voting) through the galleries during voting and saw your entry, fell in love with it, and fav'ed it. I am coming back now that I have some time to breath to tell you what I loved. You captured the 'feel' and compositional elements that I have seen in so many of the impressionism paintings that I teach to the children. I absolutely love that you chose an 'everyday activity' of times gone and had your daughter dress in old style clothes to add to a feel of a time in the 1800's or early 19th century. While the brush strokes were added later it REALLY adds to the impressionistic painting style BUT what really hits the ball out of the park is that you paid attention to the compositional elements, lighting, the play of light on the composition's elements and theme. For me, your photo painting really captured the moment and brought to mind that of Pierre-Auguste Renoir's In the Meadow, The Laundress, and Luncheon of the Boating Party Beautifullly done and captured. Congradulations on the blue!!!!