"Hey, Handsome...where ya going?"
by Marjo

Comment:
At first I set this one in the "oops" CATegory, but looking more closely, see that a bump is in order. This is a nice capture with good elements of humor due to the title. It does not reek of candid, but animals are touchy and often prefer not to have thier picture taken. You have solid focus on both the subjects and the blurring of the background at the top portion does well to maintain the crop chosen.

There is not much 'art' value in this shot and I probably would not find myself looking to purchase a shot like this unless it was enhanced with text and a cute catch phrase that my daughter would find acceptable on a poster, but then again, it could work well as a poster-type shot so it does not seem to be just another snapshot to me. If there were more vertical depth in this, (portrait crop), I think the shot would have a load more value for the average viewer.

Overall, a nice shot, not much interest value for me, but well taken. I will bring this up to a 4.

movie-theatre
by messerschmitt

Comment:
Reminds me of Rocky Horror. Does not say candid to me, although I can see how someone might consider this candid and I'll give half credit.

What this image really says is Blurry, OverExposed Lamps, Camera Shake, Snapshot just to get an entry.

This type of shot would need a tripod, not a stabilizing wall or chair. Without a specific target for evaluation in the crowd, I can only say this image rates a two.

H N Y
by Dufus

Comment:
While this is a great and I do mean "Holy Cow Batman look at all those fireworks!", I cannot see any link to the challenge of candid here. Aside from the spectacular wow look at all those freakin fireworks factor, the crop is the only other thing going for this shot in the candid challenge and it is only enough to rate a 3.

Flight 1405, 8:28 PM
by hsteg

Comment:
Candid, yes most likely, could be staged, lighting on magazine is not too blown out, but the rest of the shot is so darn black as to not be able to make out anything but the form of the profile, the hands and the mag. This setup could be seen as very artistic and I give high points for what it could be, but find the magazine to be the main subject, the candid human, to be underexposed so much as to bas9ically not be present and the mag is too out of focus to leave an impact. Rating: 2

Into the final turn.
by thommo

Comment:
It is hard to say if the dirt these guys are throwing up is distracting or if there is a color cast/over saturation problem here. To begin with, this is a great stop-action capture! Almost every dog is in focus and yet the foreground (rabbit) is slightly blurred which means you chose just the right dog to focus on. Your crop choice is great, leading the eye from top right to left to bottom as the race is leading the viewer. Your border choice is not annoying or overpowering and the shot's color scheme combined with it give a 50's feel to the composition.

Unfortunately, I see nothing candid in this entry. Yes, candid can be used with animals, but this is a sporting event (I won't get political on this one), and the shot is stop action, emotion: excitement, anticpation. I commend your composition as technically high, deduct for what seems to be a bluish/neon color cast and cannot find the link to the challenge. This leaves this entry at a 3.

Stormy Ride
by photomayhem

Comment:
This is a beautiful image with strong colors, great depth of field and a very interesting subject that is placed perfectly in a leading line on the thirds theory. Even the border is great IMO. The miniscule subjects however force a lack of emotion that is conveyed in the close up or the typical candid. Certainly I can see that there are people who may not have known their picture was being taken, but I am unable to force this image into the category of the challenge. Technically and photographically I would rate this a 9 as it could be upexposed a spot or two to really add some punch. Challenge-wise, I can only give this a 4 as it is a solidly shot/processed image that does not seem to fit in the category of candid.

Feeding Time
by elsapo

Comment:
I like this photo. I sense curiosity lurking in the subject and the variety of shades is plentiful. Would prefer a bit higher exposure, but that is preference and not a deduction. The blur of the water works nicely to not distract, excellent focus on the girl and foreground leading to her. > bump to 8.

Sad News
by whatdewuc

Comment:
This capture seems to be screaming for monochrome. Sadness=black and white doesn't it? Something about the shot does not feel candid or right and I cannot put my finger on it. Perhaps it is the positioning of the couple's hands. I cannot call this staged, there is a level of emotion here that is conveyed, but there are also some high quality distractions that keep me from focusing on them. The background is too in focus or too colorful, the highlights of the railings in the center destructive, the silvery curved item in the left corner is questionable and something hovers above the hood. Holding some CD cases up to the screen, I see that there would be a solid two point gain from this viewer if the crop were much tighter, eliminating that silver thing and the right-side distractions. 5

Angel Smile
by NinjaMom

Comment:
Is this candid or staged? I can see how it could be candid. There is a good use of DOF here to get rid of background distractions, however it seems lightly too much. Her hair and right ear (left side) seem out of focus and this should be avoided. Portraits can have soft focus, but an emotive candid should completely highlight the subject. Lighting is harsh and uneven, blown out on the cheek all the way to the forehead and in the hair adornments. This seriously hurts the capture.

If your camera is equipped, two settings can help get these shots right everytime. A=Aperture Mode and S=Shutter Mode. A will allow you to pre-set the depth of field to a 7.1-10, to ensure enough depth to get the whole subject, whereas shutter mode will help you to force the camera to choose a DOF that ensures solid exposure.

Hope these ideas help. For this entry I offer a 3.

Innocent Soul
by TLL061

Comment:
A well exposed image of a statue. The DOF is done nicely to not detract from the subject matter, but does seem noisy. The statue actually seems to convey an emotion. The wire on the right is distracting, but you have done very well in not allowing the light to create distracting burnouts on the helmet. The unfortunate failure is that I cannot mentally push this into the realm of candid. Lack of Challenge Validity, a minor distraction, some background noise/grain and an end rating of 2.