Flower Girl in White - Everywhere!
by photom

Comment:
Intentional or not, there is a softer focus at play here that can lend well to the overall, but the blacks are all shadow and this detracts somewhat from the whole. A slightly tighter crop removing some of the left and foreground would greatly enhance the feeling of movement into the wedding lawn and the crossing of the bridge. It would also eliminate the forked tree which being shadowy adds nothing to the composition.

An up exposure with levels to unhinge the shadows and reveal a minute amount of detail on the bridge and black coat and then probably some curve to return the snow to a textured would move this up a point for me. For now, a slight bump to a 5.

Fire Play
by aznym

Comment:
This is a nice blurred motion capture. The crop however does not do the subject justice. In a vertical crop (removing most of the dark wall on his right - left side of pic), the subject would be emphasized and much of the shadowy nature of the surroundings would be lessened. The alley in the background does not seem to be distracting to me and the face seems perfectly exposed. Bumping from 4 holder to 5.

Winter Wonderland
by agwright

Comment:
An interesting meld of colors in the blurred motion. Use of a great technique with slow shutter and active panning to catch your subject in action and unaware. The child approaching the side adds an extra bit of interest to the shot.

Cropped vertically, eliminating just at the edge of the rear child and giving a bit of space to skate into would have boosted this shot a couple of points for me as it would have put even more emphasis on the chosen subject and simplified the action between the child and man who appears to be trying to steady her.

The border neither adds or detracts from the whole. Bumping from a 4 holder to a 5.

Regretfully, He'll Never Be Seven Again
by Dr.Confuser

Comment:
Too many competing subjects in this one. The title leads me to the child and the curiosity in the miniature town and the leading lines of the rail show that you worked to find something that added to the family.

Unfortunately, the children and mother are somewhat out of focus and the other couple are so sharp as to almost be 3D. This detracts again from the subject, however cropping the couple out would have been next to impossible withou causing much more distraction. A good start with some very positive points, but too many distractions to reach a high level. Bumping from 4 to 5, because of the insanely 3D effect on the unintended couple and effort taken to find an interesting angle/framing that would add to the composition.

Bubble Blowing
by Heavy

Comment:
A nice capture, most certainly candid or at least it very much appears so. Use of the fill flash was great and the reflections in the bubble are muted nicely. The lens flare off the bubble, however is unfortunate and distracting. If you have PSP or Photoshop, this is easy to clone out. A slight touch of noise reduction and your well on your way.

Overall not much here to draw me back to the image as is, but a more horizontal crop with less top area background could move this up a point with me. For now a bump from the 3 holder to a 5.

December Day
by Prime_Time

Comment:
Most likely a candid, but not much more than a simple snapshot that would go into a family album. There is little to bring this image out of that category.

In this image, a shallower DOF (lower numbered f-stop) would go a long way to removing the overpowering effect of the pickup in the background. A more vertical crop would bring more focus to the actual subject and some postprocessing with the burn tool would help to eliminate some of the blown out highlights.

One trick (and it is hard to do this in a candid) is to shoot for a darker shot (faster speed and smaller F-stop, but to use the flash to bring the subjects lighting up a bit and fill in the shadows (fill flash). The challenge with this one would have been the sunglasses that would most likely have done a very nasty reflection. When sunlight is so plentiful, it is often hard to remember that the flash can still be used to an advantage.

Final rating 3.

Sneaking Off
by MAK

Comment:
I am left questioning what I am really looking at. The soft pastels of the sky are soothing and the horizon cut with the silhouettes(sp?) invokes a sense of 'the old wink wink, nudge nudge.' I wish I could see just a smidgen of the sea or coast on this one to up the mood. It seems overly dark in most places, but obvious highlight blowouts in the sky tell me that there should be so much more to see here.

An interesting capture with a somewhat candid feel. Too dark below, too light in the highlights but it has an appeal I can't quite identify. I may return again to this one. For now bumping from 3 to 4.

Oasis
by bpickard

Comment:
Hmmm....motion, highlights, deeply saturated colors, an unbalancing angle of attack. This comes off as artsy to me. Not the expected type of candid, but fits the challenge even if it is a round peg in a square hole. I cannot say there is an abundance of interest in the piece for me, but I think that is due to the crop and placement of the majority of color. Ithink a hefty rotation of the subject to place on an angle and a more rectangular crop would seem to give this a bit more edge, but don't do anything to lose the plants on either side. Losing the left top foot and burning the largest blowout on the center top would be ok though.

I think this has a potential that is yet unexplored so am bumping this from my original 3 holder to a 5.

Roofing Plumber
by Node

Comment:
Excellent framing with the trees, crisp clear almost unobstructed view of a full moon. Wow. Good points for the framing, lines and lighting. Actual subject, although no doubt taken candidly, leaves no interest for this viewer and is in many ways an unfortunate distraction to an otherwise top notch photo. A 5 for effort and technicals, wish the subject had not been there and this had been another challenge. Minus the person this image could be an 8.

No Indoor Plumbing
by Bear_Music

Comment:
The dog holds no interest factor for me at all in this shot, but I can definitely see the humor of candid all over this capture. More so, the image's silvery cast against the snow seems AMAZING to me on this monitor. I cannot sense any blowouts, all of the snow, seems to have a texture and the lines of the fencing hold good attention to the eye. A border would have destroyed this shot.

I am not drawn to the candidness in the picture, but recognize it. The shot is more interesting by far on a different level to me with the surrounding area and would be far improved if the dog had not been included at all. Technically I have nothing to offer on the whole, but find I do have to bump this up from my initial score to a 5 simply due to the other elements.