"Cook's Illustrated"
by daisy77

Comment:
Yes, I could easily see this on a magazine cover. The painterly effect is overdone for me, though (this site is, after all, about photography- not painting). The same shot without the effects would probably score much higher (particularly with dramatic lighting).

TIME MAGAZINE: "One Year Later New Yorkers Rally For Peace"
by Rooster

Comment:
Nice shot. The only significant problem I have with it is that one person isn't much of a rally- and even that person doesn't seem to be particularly motivated. The crop just emphasizes how alone she is on this deserted street. Maybe a tighter crop with the model holding the sign up, shouting, etc.?

Cajun Cooking
by boyte1

Comment:
I have a tough time picturing this on a food magazine cover- it's all about the net. If it weren't for the two protruding claws, I would have no idea what was under there. Sorry!

car and driver
by loudzgamer

Comment:
Nice shot and good exposure. C&D uses a squre format, so the horizontal orientation isn't a real problem. You might have done even better with an angled or motion shot- most car mags do this because parked cars tend to look static.

Easy Home Cooking
by Konador

Comment:
Hey... didn't I just see this in Parallel Lines? Yes, it probably would make a decent magazine cover and I do like it. The three small pieces of pasta look out of place to me (another challenge!)- what recipe would call for just 3 bites? Two of them almost form a right angle following the edges of the page- not quite straight, but also not off enough to be random. It would have been cool to see either several types of pasta or a few strands of spinach linguine (or other color).

Dog World
by Crafty Sue

Comment:
Hmm... the crocus is the focus- the dog isn't even paying attention. Sort of like shooting the back of my kid's head for Parents magazine. Pet photos CAN do well here, but you'd need an amazing pose, or dramatic lighting or at least a closeup of the dog's face to succeed.

Disc Dog Quarterly
by wetland

Comment:
A very cool shot. I do wish the dog was a bit lower on the page, though. Also, it's obvious that the blur was created in Photoshop. Nice job on a difficult mask, but the blur effect is plainly visible around the frisbee and legs. Use the cloning tools or history brush to remove that glow and no one will ever know. Good luck!

Flora Garten
by undieyatch

Comment:
A very nice photo, with good composition and crisp focus. As a photographer, you should note that Flora Garten is a vertical format, and that it could be difficult to read type over an image with this much contrast. I do like the shot, though. I'll bet you could get a stunning cover photo with a really tight crop of the main flower that fills the entire page.

Flower & Garden
by jjbeguin

Comment:
Beautiful colors and crisp focus. Very impactful- and I like the generally diagonal feel of the composition. For the purposes of this challenge, note that Flower & Garden runs their headline from edge to edge right at the top of the magazine, so you should have left more room along the top and ditched the border. (No, I'm not going to beat you up for that).

Muzzleloader
by camelotnorth

Comment:
A good image, though not particularly compelling to me personally. I think the shot would have turned out much better if you set the exposure on the bright sky, then used fill flash to light the subject. You'd have captured tone in the sky and the background trees wouldn't be breaking up. Also, a plain (or less contrasty) blanket would allow more opportunities for reading type over the photo.