Andrea Loc: Naples, Florida

O.K. here is 1st image, cropped and just a tiny bit of vignette.

TonyB Loc: Cornwall UK

Andrea, the cropping and toning down of the vignetting has made a nice photo into a great one, showing the joie de vivre of a little girl on a windy beach. It should look excellent framed and hanging on the wall.

CaptainC Loc: Colorado, south of Denver

I love it.

RMM Loc: Suburban New York

Now it looks like a French Impressionist painting. Gorgeous!

twna Loc: Western Colorado

Very, very nice.

Chinaman Loc: Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

Great improvement! See, the 'rule of thirds' works!

Robert M Loc: Clifton, NJ

Wonderful!!!

Andrea Loc: Naples, Florida

thanks so much everyone! I was not expecting such praise. I was just wondering about the soft focus when I posted. However, you have all given my confidence a huge boost. Thanks you so much.

Tom H Loc: St. Louis, MO

It is amazing how the beginning and ending pictures tell such different stories.

To me the "before" picture had a very mysterious and ominous feeling. Made me think of "Children of the Corn" or perhaps a young person with some mystic powers. Was she telling the ocean to be calm? Or was she about to walk on into the ocean? It really grabbed my attention, but not in a pleasant way.

The "after" picture shows a very cute little girl enjoying the feel of the ocean and the wind. A little girl enjoying being a little girl, perhaps experiencing the ocean for the first time and without any fear of it. The evening light on her hair is beautiful.

This is a marvelous picture that may well become a family heirloom. Thank you for sharing this with us and letting me learn more about the crafting of an impressions and a story.

And, thanks to all of you who shared your knowledge and judgments with us. It was a very good lesson. It is what makes UHH so helpful and worthwhile.

Now, what about Andrea's second picture? The one with the boy and girl walking together on the beach. It too, is a wonderful picture with potential to be even better.

Tom Hudson

crazy4thread Loc: Minnesota

I think they are lovely! To most peoples eyes I think they would be. Not everyone looks critically at photos and if you are not entering them in a contest, it is all about what you like. I would love to have photos like this of my kids.

As for the "rude" people, on this forum you have to take what you need and leave the rest :) There are definately alot of wonderful and helpful people on here. I know what you mean about being scared to post, but that is the only way to learn from the best.... Glad you posted :)

mountaincamper Loc: Virginia

I'm just starting out learning but I like both pictures. These reviews you have gotten above are from people with tons of experieince and I hope one day to be able t give advice like theirs.

Terry

Tylerd Loc: Scotland

Absolutely beautiful Andrea, I wish I could take shots like this :)

BurtLehman Loc: Santa Fe, NM

This is the exact result I was going to suggest before I read CaptainC and others.

Absolutely gorgeous!

Rule of thirds
Get rid of extraneous empty space
Give the main subject somewhere to go other than off the frame
All kinds of drama
Slight vignette draws eye to main event

Tom H Loc: St. Louis, MO

You said,"...unless your entering them in a contest...". This picture beats many that I've seen in Camera Club contests. I think you should be proud enough of this picture to enter it in a contest.

The slight soft focus helps give this a dreamy feel. Helps you feel what the child may be feeling. I'd consider it to be a great shot!

Tom Hudson

Shakey Loc: Traveling again to Norway and other places.

I clicked on Download to see the big image. It is beautiful, Andrea. Congratulations!