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Critique Me-Cassandra at Fairytale Dreams Photography
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Remember:
Read How to Critique a Photo
Make a critique sandwich – something positive, something you would have done differently, something positive
My rule: no improvement tip = deleted comment
This will benefit the person leaving the photo critique just as much if not more than the person receiving the critique.

Thank you to Cassandra at Fairytale Dreams Photography for submitting the following image.
Settings: ISO 200, SS 1/100, f/16

18 Comments
  • Allyson
    April 16, 2012 at 8:14 AM

    I love how you shot this photo from above. I personally love these types of photos. The one shoulder of little boy in the red sweater seems a little, maybe, over exposed. Other than that, it’s perfect for me. I love how the expression of the boy in the red, it’s like you can feel what he’s feeling. Great job!

  • April 16, 2012 at 8:15 AM

    I love the pose and composition. It looks like it was an overexposed SOOC shot. I say this because of the highlights on the ones little boys face. And maybe used Recovery in LR to help. I do this at times but it leaves the skin tone looking grey. Which seems to me what happened with theirs..I could be way wrong, I’m trying to train my eye! I do really like this shot though! Their hand positions are so cute :)

  • April 16, 2012 at 8:26 AM

    What a cute idea! I love the angle. The only thing I would have done differently is tried to find a spot that was all shade. I think the bright spots on the boy on the lefts face and shoulders are a bit distracting. Other then that it looks great. You did a really awesome job on your edit.

  • Tina Carlson
    April 16, 2012 at 12:09 PM

    What a great shot…love the hand placement of both boys, very sweet. Maybe if you could have found shade or used a reflector overhead to help block the sun (which I have been told works, but personally, never tried) would have helped the brightness. Otherwise, great subjects! Wished my grandchildren lived closer.

  • April 16, 2012 at 12:24 PM

    I love your angle! I would suggest getting higher (if possible)to avoid the hand chop on the boy in red. (although I am very guilty of chopping limbs!) Lovely expressions on the boys! Great job!!

  • April 16, 2012 at 1:08 PM

    I love this photo! The pose is so cute. I especially like the placement of the hands. Their are a few spots on the boy’s face and his shoulder that are a little bright. Their expressions are great.

  • Lauren
    April 16, 2012 at 1:21 PM

    Great picture Cassandra!

    I think the pose is really cute and getting up above them to look down was a good call! I would have put the boys in complete shade so that the boy in red doesn’t have those light spots on his face and body. I find myself wanting to see a little bit more of their bodies, so I probably would have turned the camera 90 degrees to have a little less grass on top and bottom of the frame, and you wouldn’t have any problem chopping their limbs off. Did you do much work on this picture in post processing? When it comes to pictures that have had a lot of Photoshop or Lightroom actions done on them, I feel like they seem somehow overworked. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I get that feeling from this picture. I prefer a cleaner, fresher look, but that is just my taste! I’m sorry if this seems like a lot of critique, but I really do love the overall picture! You have some adorable subjects and I love the expressions on their faces!

  • April 16, 2012 at 3:08 PM

    What a great picture! I love that their eyes are along the same line and how connected they are with their hands touching each other’s faces so lovingly. I would have tried not to crop the hand on the little boy, but that happens! I agree with the others about the grayish tone in their skin. Perhaps you could warm that up a bit. But it really is such a wonderful moment captured between two brothers. They are sure to cherish this photo for years!

  • April 16, 2012 at 6:47 PM

    I really love this photo. When I first saw it I thought it was adorable. I like the composition although I find myself wanting to turn it 90 degrees. I also agree that the skin tone is slightly too grey but I love the edit otherwise. Especially the colours, it feels a bit vintage which is a style a love. So cute!

  • April 16, 2012 at 8:30 PM

    I like how you shot the boys from above, it gives a fun perspective to the shot. One improvement would be to have framed the shot to include the lower boy’s elbow and the upper boy’s full left hand to avoid chopping the limbs. Another thing I noticed is that the light seems harsher on the upper boy’s than on the lower one’s–the highlights on his face are the brightest spots of the shot, which draws the eye to them. Maybe moving them both into the shade might have helped. Or, in post production burning the highlights could even it out a bit. What a nice shot, and thanks for sharing!

  • April 17, 2012 at 12:35 AM

    I love the composition and expressions! I think the crop could be wider so that the little boy’s hand isn’t cut off or the older one’s elbow.

  • Bethney
    April 17, 2012 at 5:46 AM

    I really love this shot! I think the focus is great and I’m loving the composition. I find the bright spots on the top boy’s face a bit distracting, and the limb chop on the bottom bothers me a bit. I would also like to see the skin brightened a bit. Other than that I think this is a great shot. I love the little hands on each other’s face. SO sweet.

  • Sara
    April 17, 2012 at 10:01 AM

    I love this shot!!! The pose is adorable!! I don’t know how you got them to stay like that. The first thing that caught my eye was the little boy in the red fingers/hand was cut off. Trying to get a picture with young kids and have them both looking at the camera and getting a good focus like you did, is hard to do. Great job!

  • Cora
    April 17, 2012 at 2:14 PM

    I would love to know how you got these two adorable boys to pose for you like this! That takes real talent! I agree on the over exposure and perhaps I’m wrong but was wondering if your white balance was set correctly. Otherwise, this is really an adorable picture and I would love to have one just like this of my girls! Wonderful!

  • Debbie Panton
    April 18, 2012 at 4:28 AM

    What a cute picture. Adorable boys…and I love their outfits too. I’m new to using manual settings on my camera and this is my first critique. The only thing I noticed initially was the brightness on one little guys face. When I read some of the other comments, I could see some of what they were talking about. That’s what I like about these critiques.. even people viewing them… can learn a few things. I love the natural light in this picture too. Looking forward to getting some outdoor pics soon with our boys ( when the grass gets green). I also love the angle.. One of the things I’m trying to remember is trying fresh angles when I take a picture.. I’ll definitely try this one this summer. Now You’ll have to tell us … how did to get them to stay still.

  • Bryce S
    April 27, 2012 at 12:39 PM

    Something is amiss with the contrast; their shirts and the grass have tons of detail, but their faces are very flat and look a bit too gray. The boy on the bottom doesn’t have any separation between his upper lip and his teeth. That could be corrected with slight mid-tone burning.

    The photo is slightly out of balance, maybe due to the logo re-framing the top edge. You might try fading from completely transparent to the white translucent. The logo at this size is very difficult to read. (I understand that the logo might not normally be part of the composition)

    I love the symmetry and asymmetry of this composition.

    • Bryce S
      April 27, 2012 at 12:40 PM

      The gray skin could be helped a bit in photoshop with a selection of just their skin and increasing vibrance or saturation.

  • June 9, 2012 at 12:15 PM

    cute! my only thing would be on the editing, it seems slightly greenish to me. I would have used a warmer color balance combo. Great job getting two boys to look so great!

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