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 Molly of Mixed Molly Designs for the following image.
Settings: f2.5, SS 1/2000, ISO 200
Courtney Slazinik
I am a SAHM of three little girls. Married to a fabulous man in the Air Force, we know home is where the Air Force sends us. I started this blog as a place to share my love of photography and teaching. Please let me know if you have any questions along your journey!
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@clickitupanotch
I'm Courtney and the girl behind Click it Up a Notch. Photographer . Blogger . Wife . Mother . Teacher
Praying for everyone in OK. <3 - 5 hours ago
Latest posts by Courtney Slazinik (see all)
- Critique Me – Pam at PhotogHer - May 20, 2013
- Lensbaby Composer Pro with Sweet 35mm Optic – 6 Lessons Learned - May 16, 2013
- Letters to Our Children – May 2013 - May 15, 2013
At Click it Up a Notch you will find tips and tricks to improve your photos one click at a time. 
Twitter: entirelyem
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Molly- This is a great shot. I love the composition and the angle that you shot at. The blowout sky with the windmill is bothering me a little. I don’t know if you could have repositioned to get that out. But the colors and vibrancy are spot on. Great job!
Emily recently posted..(Almost ) Wordless Wednsday
Thanks Emily! I was torn about leaving the windmill in, or cropping it out
I appreciate your feedback.
MixedMolly recently posted..I Clicked it Up a Notch for Wordful Wednesday on Thursday
I love the expression you were able to capture. What joy and innocence in her face. I just wish you could have either moved your aperture up a little to include a little more detail in the windmill or cloned it out because the missing details are distracting. I really admire the colors in you captured with the flowers in your bokeh. Simply stunning.
Thanks Erin!
MixedMolly recently posted..I Clicked it Up a Notch for Wordful Wednesday on Thursday
What a beautiful photo and a great smile. You captured it well! There is one thing that you have done that could have been different. Her feet are missing. I find that I frequently cut off limbs, even though I know better. LOL! I love the angle of the photo and that it leaves you with a sense of wondering just what she is looking at that gives her such a beautiful smile! Your vibrant colors are stunning!
Thanks Yvonne! She is actually looking at her cousin acting like a goofball in the yard
MixedMolly recently posted..I Clicked it Up a Notch for Wordful Wednesday on Thursday
I really like the colors and overall brightness of the photo. I also think the contrast between the clarity of the little girl and the barely there windmill is great. The small statue and the sprig of grass over it pulls my eye away from the girl though and I’d probably crop them out or re-position to avoid them in the first place.
Thanks Brian! I did play with cropping that out, but decided to leave it for the critique
MixedMolly recently posted..I Clicked it Up a Notch for Wordful Wednesday on Thursday
Great shot! I love the smile on her face, very natural and it looks like she’s having fun
The statue is pulling my eye away too, so either cloning that out or removing it beforehand would have been nice. Overall I love the bright colors and how they lend to the “happy” feel of the image.
kate with a camera recently posted..Walkies: Nemo Style
GREAT smile! I also love the flower bokeh
I would probably step back just a touch. Also, the image looks a tad over-saturated to me. Really sweet photo!
Eileen recently posted..Bubbles
This photo is just precious. Her expression is so adorable. However, I was kind of bothered by the angle a little bit. I think that maybe if you shot her from a more face level, but still being the same distance away, that would be cute.
This photo is a keeper
This is such a good picture. The colors are pretty and I love the angle. I think the area above her head is a little bright for my taste. That is the only thing that I spotted and it was minor. Super cute picture!
Amy Shaughnessy recently posted..Rainy Day
Love the shot! The colors and the light are great and the girl is amazing. Maybe I would try to change the angle because her feet are missing.
Great capture of a truly natural smile!
Her skin tones seem a bit off (too green/yellow), but that may have been the look you were going for? Really like vibrant colors of the grass and flowers 
Mama Monkey recently posted..Joy…Fall
honestly I love the picture, I’m not one of those that think every single photo you ever snap has to follow a thousand rules. Photography is an ART, and people forget that a lot. It does not bother me that her feet are in the grass. The only thing I can suggest is that it would have been really cool to see the windmill in focus and to remove the little girl statue. The statue is distracting although it’s cute on it’s own. (Maybe a cute photo with just the statue?)
Great pic, love it!
Thanks Teresa! I couldn’t agree more that photography is an art, and my style happens to be heavily photojournalistic, so cut off limbs don’t tend to bother me at all
I do understand that from a technical portrait standpoint this is a bad thing, I just think those rules can be broken for the sake of art and honesty.
MixedMolly recently posted..I Clicked it Up a Notch for Wordful Wednesday on Thursday
Great Picture! She has such a contagious smile! I love the look that you were going for and the bokah with the flowers is great. Unfortunately to achieve this it blurred the windmill out to far. I love the windmill behind her and think that would have been a great addition if the windmill had been slightly more in focus. Either that or since the picture is already done crop the photo in a little more to take some of the sky and windmill out of the picture. I think if you were to just clone it out the sky would still be overwhelming as it is mostly white space. You might try to tilt the angle of the picture some just to give it a different look. Overall a great shot though!
I love how colorful this photo is and I think that the windmill in the background adds a really neat touch to this shot. It seems as though the focus is on her skirt/knees vs her face though, and the only reason I notice this is because I’m working on getting my focus where I want it to be also. I love that you captured a “real” smile though instead of a posed one. Nice job!
I love that she is not looking at you. Quite often the best shots are the “candid” ones that you catch them not being so posed for you. At first I like the statue in the corner but as i looked at it more I maybe would have taken it out to just have the picture be about the girl and her flowers. I like the windmill in the background. Adds something different that you don’t usually see. Guess its just a matter of opinion as I noticed someone said they didn’t like it. Good photo overall.