Snips & Snails...by
lauraodomComment by BakerBug: Hello from the Critique Club
First impression is that this is a very cute portrait! His smile looks very genuine, not forced, you can tell by his eyes. It gives me the feeling that he is happy because he is holding his best friend in the world. I especially like how he is holding the dog, almost like a hug. They both seem happy together.
The dog's pose is excellent. He is not looking at the camera, so he doesn't compete for the attention of your eye. Yet he is very attentive with his ears up and his gaze fixed on something. I like the position of his paw, it adds to the feeling that he is returning the hug.
You received several comments that this has an "old" feeling to it. I would have to agree with that. I don't know if it was intentional or not, but I think it helped this portrait stand out from the others. I think it is the combination of the colors, the style of his shirt, and his hair cut that give it this feeling.
You also received some comments about the focus. This is probably the one flaw in this shot. The dog is slightly sharper than the boy. This pulls the attention back onto the dog. If the pose was not so good, this would have been a lot more detrimental to this shot. Closing your aperture one or two stops would have helped with this (I have this problem too!).
The lighting is excellent. The subject is far enough away from the background that he doesn't leave any shadows. The lights are positioned so that there is a slight shadow on the side of his face, which really gives the shot a feeling of depth.
Overall this is a great portrait! This would be a shot that I have framed and sent to members of my family.
Photographer found comment helpful.