Between a mother and son
by Sheryll

Comment by sfalice:
Sheryll, you asked me to take a look at this image and I am delighted to do so. I'm going to pretend this is a Critique Club evaluation, so here goes. "Between a Mother and Son"

First, I admire your courage in trying new and unusual things. I very much like the use of complementary colors (purple & yellow). The image fills the frame nicely and has a lot of interest.

IMO, I think you have given us a great deal of information in this image and you might consider trying a simpler background if you have another try. Also, your boy is really quite a bit out of focus and since he is pretty close to being the important foreground, it's important (I think) that he be sharper. You should be able to do this, in a nighttime shot, by using a higher ISO rating. And by bracketing your shots. I understand that is hard to do with a small child, but still, worth a try if you can. By all means, keep that tripod handy.

Then, and I do like unorthodox framing, so don't take this as a suggestion to be more conventional. I do think you have quite alot of leg and rearend in the foreground, but all the interest is concentrated in the sweetness of the faces and head area. So, perhaps a bit closer to the area of interest might be worth a try. But not, necessarily, a 'closeup.'

Finally, borders and frames are controversial at DPC. I tend to avoid them and those who use them successfully, tend to be the ones who use the procedure sparingly. In any case, I'm not sure it enhances this very nice image.

You have received some very good and perceptive comments on this image from others at DPC. And I, too, wish you the very best here at DPC and look forward to seeing more of your work.

Between a mother and son
by Sheryll

Comment by kari1:
The created border being incompleted does not seem to add anything to this picture.

Between a mother and son
by Sheryll

Comment by nheilweil:
I love the tender subject you've chosen to capture, but for me, the out-of-focus look, purple background and over-exposed skin tones, keep the image from getting to the next level. Keep working on the technical elements so that your photos can best represent the beauty of the subjects you've got.

Between a mother and son
by Sheryll

Comment by posthumous:
I don't know if the strange processing, such as purple background, helps any, but oddly enough it doesn't detract from the core emotion of this shot, which is powerful. 9

Between a mother and son
by Sheryll

Comment by alanfreed:
I have to be honest in saying that I'm not fond of the editing here. The skin tones are unnatural, and the sky and grass aren't usually all that purple. It just seems like these things were toned for the sake of toning them. I have no problem with altering colors if there's a good *reason*, but that doesn't seem to be the case here. It seems like she's hugging her child because nuclear radiation is lighting up her town or something... :/

Cooling it
by Sheryll

Comment by posthumous:
I love how the face disappears into the water. This would have been fantastic for faceless portrait. I hope you make your pictures bigger in the future. 7

Between a mother and son
by Sheryll

Comment by dallasdux:
Too much noise in the photo.

Between a mother and son
by Sheryll

Comment by goc:
strong message. but the photo is not good at all .. the focus, the framing the colors ... i'm missing it really :-)

Between a mother and son
by Sheryll

Comment by tjbel05:
Wonderful concept, a little too soft on the edges.

Too pretty to eat.JPG
by Sheryll

Comment by chele:
too pretty to NOT eat ;)