I think I got pretty lucky with how the colors in the background frame the picture. It would have been nice to get his mouth in the shot, but this was practically a candid, and this boy is a ham if I try to make corrections at the scene.
Statistics
Place: 108 out of 440 Avg (all users): 5.6778 Avg (commenters): 6.6667 Avg (participants): 5.6835 Avg (non-participants): 5.6718 Views since voting: 941 Views during voting: 362 Votes: 270 Comments: 7 Favorites: 0
Cute guy! Good bokeh, subject stands out from the background, color mix is good. Had I voted it would have been a 7, only because the focus is somewhat soft on subject.
First, Ursula approved and that's pretty much better than any higher score you might have achieved. She's the Queen of Bokeh. I don't limit "bokeh" to "circles of light" either. It's pretty much the way an OOF or soft background can highlight a subject - and you've done it well here. The arch of the trees and the light space beneath them frame the young man quite nicely. I don't know about having to see his mouth or his smile - his eyes pass along an impishness that might not be seen as clearly otherwise. And I do like the way the scarf seems way too big for him yet fails to contain his spirit.
My only nit is a grayish horizontal line near the base of the picture - perhaps from a fence. It does ever so slightly pull at the eye a bit.
I took this into Photoshop and a bit more sharpening can be used to bring out the boy if you wish, but the softness doesn't detract in my mind.
For all of the bokeh bashing in some of the threads this week, I'm surprised my picture's score placed as high as it did. Apparently I committed two DPC sins: a picture of a child and no circles in my bokeh.
I think it's a good picture though, and I think the darker shapes in the blurred background frame the boy nicely. It would have been better to get his smile in the shot.
I may need my eyes checked, but the boy looks plenty sharp here.
Add photograph to your favorites
Add photographer to your favorites
Photographer found comment helpful.
