Magical Moment of a Puppy at Play
by Montereykiddo

Comment:
What a lucky shot! Talk about timing! :)

This is a fun shot but not really a portrait. The dog is clearly having a lot of fun and very intent on grabbing that stick! The lighting on the left makes me say, "Oh yeah, beautiful!" it loses all it's appeal by the time I get to the right of the shot. Overblow and jpeg factors are really evident on that side. A 5

At Least He Doesn't Chew My Slippers
by Mr_Pants

Comment:
Nope, he sure doesn't! AND you don't have to feed him, walk him, brush him, play with him, he's cute but darn so boring! :)

Nice shot but the background is very distracting and the highlight on the right is also very distracting. A little more depth of color on the dog, really bringing out the brown would make this a very cute shot overall. A 5

Bride, Groom and Ring Bearer
by Jesuispeure

Comment:
Awwwwwww! How cool! I had my cat at my wedding, she was an honorary flower cat :)

This is a great shot, the black and white works very well but it seems overly smooth, not sure if that's neat image or what. And since this is supposed to be Pet portrait, I would really like to see more focus on the dog himself/herself. The couple is very nice I'm sure and this a great reminder for the wedding album but were any taken of just the dog? :) Giving it a 6 for a couple of reasons, the biggest being that people are in it and competing for attention with the dog.

A Day at the Beach
by milo655321

Comment:
Oh dear, someone had a LOT of fun didn't they? LOL! This is a classic candid shot of a dog at the beach and I love it for that. But for a portrait challene, it falls just a bit short. Maybe a slightly tighter crop on the left and top to really bring the dog main focus of the shot, leaving the beach and water as your negative space filler. The light is a bit bright but then again, how you gonna difuse the sun? :) I had this at a 5 but am going to bump up to a 6

Here Kitty!
by Chinabun

Comment:
Ah, a classic pose, almost Egyptian in it's nature. But the light is so harsh and bright and the shadows just hurt this on so many levels. I really like the idea and the set up, but maybe a diffused light and a darker background, possibly even black with the light might work better, would help absorb some of the light and hide the shadow. As is a 5

The Family Dog
by aplomb76

Comment:
Oh, the poor baby! All chained up :( And he looks pretty ticked off! It's a great candid shot but doesn't come off with the portrait flair. The light and overall composition works well with this shot but the conditions surrounding dog do influence how I feel about the shot. The shap metal roof, the short, short chain make me feel sorry for the puppy. If this was just about any other challenge besides a portrait challenge this would score higher but as is, a 5

Who, me?
by BigChris

Comment:
Yes you! I'm calling you, look at me! ;)

Cute dog but the dark shadow on the left side of the dogs face is a bit of a distraction. The overall picture seems a bit dark and just a little over processed. If this is who I think it is, PM me and we can talk about the post processing. If it's not who I think it is, you can PM me anyway. A 4

Okay, additional comment, you aren't who I thought you were but if you would still like to talk about the post processing on this shot, I would be happy to offer some suggestions, if I could see the original. Thanks!

How the West Was Won
by AJFI

Comment:
Cute idea and it has great potential. But the lighting is very harsh, wiping out all detail on the black cat. Black animals in general are so hard to photograph, that much I really know having 2 black cats myself and a couple of black horses at the barn! ;) THe use of flash in this shot caused the harsh light on the covered wagon top and the reflection in the cat's eyes and is very distracting. If you could diffuse the flash or bounce it so it's not so harsh that too would help. And maybe the angle of the shot, if you could get the cat to sit inside the wagon top and shoot more from the side? A 5

Bun Bun
by mlhop05

Comment:
Awww, so cute! This shot has a great deal of potential. I like the soft focus used here, not usually a big fan but it seems to work with this shot, but then again, just a tad too soft for my overall taste. Was that clear as mud for ya? :) Wrapping Bun Bun in the blanket or scarf or whatever that is helps add color to the shot but the colors are very hot while the rabbit and background are muted in comparison, taking away from the main subject of the rabbit. Maybe softer lighting to diffuse the color or finding a different color to use? Also the cropping seems a bit loose, using my magic envelopes I took off both sided and the bottom, leaving only the black on the top and having the blanket frame the rabbit more and WOW, there is a big difference, the colors aren't so hot without the black to contrast it so much. If you work with this, I would love to see the finished photo. A 5

My Bone!
by Sonda

Comment:
Okay, started a comment on this one and then got distracted and lost it! ;) THis is a very cute candid shot but not really portrait style to me. If the smaller dog was more in the picture and looking at the bone it might be alot closer to the portrait style. The cropping is fine on the larger dog, it doesn't hurt having the ear or tail cut off, at least not in a picture :) But the black and white doesn't work very well in this case because thre is no definite white area. It's all grays and black, no contrast or element to really make it pop. A 5