'Pi' in the eye.
by casualguy

Comment:

Originally posted by jimmygurl09: this is the stupidist picture i have ever seen u r just wasting film ne ways i rate u a 1

Your maturity's showing.

Electric Fragility
by moodville

Comment:
Gorgeous!

Truly shows that "weeds" are only flowers society has deemed as "unwanted". When they truly are just as beautiful as any other flower!

Breakfast for Two
by OneSweetSin

Comment:
Greetings from the Critque Club!

Composition:
While it is a very centered photo, there is enough going on to keep your interest. The real downfall is your background. It's just too much for the photo. An out of focus kitchen would seem more appropriate for this shot. And quite a bit more natural of course. After reading your comments I'm surprised you removed the kitten. I think "Breakfast for Three" would've made the photo that much more interesting, as well as 'cute' :)

Lighting:
I think your lighting is good. His face isn't hid in shadows, and your exposure is just fine. I think the real problem is the brightness of the background, you take that away and the photo looks a lot better.

Technical:
I think your photo is technically flawless, everything looks good as far as your technique is concerned.

Post-processing:
You might want to consider adding a touch of contrast to it. It is a touch on the flat side right now. Other than that it looks good.

Overall:
This is a great shot. I like it a lot. With a more appropriate background I think you would've scored higher. But even the best photos will get hit hard if the voter doesn't see it as fitting the challenge. As you said many will feel this was a snapshot, and they voted accordingly. I think people were really looking for the "Sunday at Sears" look. ;)

Hope your photos score more deservingly in the future.

. . . Ladybug
by ladpupmoe

Comment:
Greetings from the Critque Club!

Composition:
I love this composition. It's a shiny little ladybug for sure! I think if you had shown more of what's around it though, the selective desaturation would've had more impact. As it is, the ladybug is the foreground, and desaturating doesn't change that fact. I wrote a post on choosing the right photo for selective desaturation, might be good for you to look over it.

Lighting:
The lighting in this photo is gorgeous. Specifically the reflection on the bug. Your exposure is spot on, no worries there.

Technical:
Someone said the ladybug is a little soft on the focus, and I can see their point, but I wouldn't say it's out by a lot.

Post-processing:
This is where your photo needs the most work. First of all there is still color in the entire photo. There is a greenish tint to all the plant material. I would've liked to see you just select the bug, and do a full desaturate. Since now you removed other colors from the bug that help define it's actual color. I'm not sure if you just forgot the green channel or what...

Overall:
This is a very cool macro bug shot. You just need to work on your desaturation technique.

Hope you do better next time.

Kite Surfer
by Stagolee

Comment:
Greetings from the Critque Club!

Composition:
This is a great action photo. Lots going for it, the waves, the water spray, everything looks great. It's just not a good selective desaturation picture.

When you selectively desaturate you're making a new foreground. You should read this post I made about choosing good photos for it.

Lighting:
Your lighting is great. The only thing I'd like changed is the shadow on his face.

Technical:
Technically sound. It's in focus, your DoF was nicely chosen. I have no complaints here.

Post-processing:
This is where you need work. While it may not be very noticable. There is still color in _most_ of the photo. You barely desaturated anything. About all I notice is the far shore was desaturated. There is color in the water, on the board, on him, and on the cables. It really does look like a normal full color photo.

Overall:
You have a great capture here. It just doesn't work for Selective Desaturation. A great photo in the wrong challenge will still score badly.

I look forward to future submissions.

Aspiring Classic
by hughletheren

Comment:
Greetings from the Critque Club!

Composition:
I strongly agree with nborton; a more unique perspective would be a lot more interesting. There is nothing that makes this shot "special" if you will. As far as the challenge, I think this is "O.K." but again nothing special. I wrote a short forum post on how to choose good selective desaturation photos. You might want to read it here.

Lighting:
Your lighting is fine, seems pretty midday, you might want to consider early evening, or late morning for warmer light.

Technical:
Your photo is technically sound. But I find it hard to believe that the f/3.5 was the same as the f/22 shot. Were you just looking at the car for comparison?

Post-processing:
Your editing is fine, I see no problems with it. I don't have any suggestions either though.

Overall:
A very average photo, that's what hurt your score. I think if you choose a better subject for selective desaturation, you'd have a much more intriguing photo.

Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder
by mmccoy

Comment:
Now that's a cow-lick :)

Balancing Balloons
by Bassie

Comment:
Greetings from the Critque Club!

Composition:
Your subject choice is excellent. The framing is compelling. Nicely done.

Lighting:
Your photo is underexposed, and that hurt your score. The details are drowned with so little contrast. Perhaps adjusting in editing could've fixed it, but most likely you just needed to let more light hit the sensor.

Techincal:
Your depth of field is a tad high, The background elements could've been softer to keep more attention on your subject. Again it's a little under-exposed. All of this could've been fixed in one simple aperture adjustment.

Post-processing:
Your editing is good. Your desaturation is great. Only complaint is the lack of contrast, just to repeat some fine-tuning in editing could've saved a reshoot.

Overall:
This is a great capture for the challenge. The biggest thing holding you back is the aperture. Using perhaps a f/4.0 would've softened the background as well as let more light in to get the proper exposure.

Excellent submission, congrats on your top10 finish.

On Duty
by pmichaud

Comment:
Greetings from the Critque Club!

Composition:
Your subject is great! Unfortunately your framing and cropping etc don't leave much room around him. It makes the viewer wish for more room around him.

Lighting:
Your lighting is okay in this photo. There isn't much control over lighting in a spot like this, and you captured it just fine. Exposure is correct so no worries there.

Technical:
Your depth of field is a little deep. It would be nice to have gotten the background softer. Right now it's distracting, as too much is in focus.

Post-processing:
This is where your photo needs the most work. First of all you removed colors from his face and other areas of the skin. I assume this was from the process you used to desaturate. It makes him look sunburn. The policeman isn't what makes this photo. What makes the photo is the kilt. The fact that it is a policeman wearing the kilt isn't shown by the fact that only the policeman is in color. However, leaving ONLY the kilt would bring the attention to the kilt first and foremost. Also leaving only the kilt in color would've helped deter some of the background clutter going on. Your background would become the policeman himself, and would've been very effective.

Overall:
This is a great capture. You were limited in what you could do to compose the shot, but you worked with what was given you effectively. Your photo was hurt by your editing. I think your score would've been quite a bit higher had you left only the kilt in color. Try it for yourself, desaturate the rest of him and leave just the kilt. It's much more compelling.

Very nice attempt with a unique shot. A little fine-tuning of your editing skills and you'll see your scores move up.

Eyes of the Cat
by Cantique

Comment:
Greetings from the Critque Club!

Composition:
Unfortunately desaturating all but the eyes was a fairly common submission for this theme. I think that adversely affected your score. Your actual framing of the cat is nicely done however. You did a good job with rule of thirds.

Lighting:
Having photographed cats many times, I think you did a good job. While some thought the left side was too bright, I think the cat itself is a rather 'bright' cat. And there is plenty of detail to make up for the bright area.

Technical:
You did nicely here. Very sharp in focus. Good exposure. I would like to see a division between the dark spots on the cat's head, and the background (carpet?). They seem to blend together, but that isn't something very controlable.

Post-processing:
I think this is where the photo needs the most work. Your desaturation is excellent, your contrast of the eyes is nice (not sure what the original looked like). But my complaint is the back of the neck and some of the back. At 1/350s it isn't motion blur, and at f/5.6 I don't _think_ it's depth of field. I believe it's some editing you did to it. either with clone brush, burn or dodge. It just _looks_ edited, and that bothers me. If it wasn't you, my apologies, but I think you'll understand where I'm coming from.

Overall:
I think you have a great capture here. You chose a pretty popular subject (eyes) which hurt your score. The only suggestion for improvement I have is the back of the neck, it appears overly edited. If it wasn't maybe a longer depth of field would help. Otherwise, there isn't much I'd change.

Hope you do better next time.