My sweet little nieceby
jeroweComment by KiwiShotz: ::: Critique Club :::
You were clearly disappointed witht the result but I wouldn't say it "bombed". It nearly scored 5. To bomb you have to be in the 2's and 3's. You've just set the bar pretty high because your first challenge entry got a well-deserved 4th :).
First Impression:
Cute, lovely freckles and makes you smile as she has a cheeky mischievous look about her - but is it relevant to the challenge?
Composition
As you can see from the comments, this tight cropping both wins hearts and turns them away. The composition elements of the all-important eyes and the mouth both sit right on thirds lines and that is perfect composition for this crop. In a portrait challenge, this image would stand out and be alluring because you have dared to be different.
Subject:
She's cute but you may have got it wrong to win this challenge. That's not to say she is irrelevant to this challenege if she
is the most important corner of your world. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that she is the centre of your universe? Your image also needs to communicate that affect to others too. The caption alone can't carry it.
Technical:
The lighting works as it reaches all over the image evenly with no blown highlights ot deep shadows. The small highlight on the bottom lip really adds a sparkle to that first impression of the image too.
It doesn't look as if you have sharpened it at all and you don't mention that in your comments. Sharpening is way over-used by a lot of people but it is quite legitimate, indeed almost essential, to use a little when submitting. The crispest image will blur when you reduce it's size from Photoshop/PaintShop Pro to a 640 pixel jpeg. Your original capture looks to be in focus and to have been sharp in the camera but the eyes and mouth just look like they have lost that in the conversion.
Summary
This is what is often termed a "camera club" image. They're usually of children, babies or pets and are dear to the heart of the photographer. Everyone who has children understands that only too well. The problem, or challenge, with such images is that you then have to make them interesting to
other people as well. All images need to involve the viewer as an active participant. You can do that with something highly emotive, something which leaves the viewer trying to resolve something to do with the image or it can tell a story which the viewer gets involved in interpreting.
Thanks for the opportunity to look at this in depth
Brett
Message edited by author 2005-10-16 16:45:26. 
Photographer found comment helpful.