Family customs

I gave this image a 1st place rating because I love the warm lighting with the sun going down and because of the composition. It is a "feel good" creative family shot with Dad jumping highest, the son second while looking up to his Dad and the daughter in on the action. She shows some motion which adds interest to the shot. The son's profile clearly shows the joyful emotion and prideful feelings for his father. The grass in the foreground is beautiful lit. I can't decide if the 2 larger blades of grass are distracting or serve to lead your eye to the center of the image, the family unit.

I love several things about this image. First, I love the ethereal feel of the image with the sun's rays and the beautiful surf. I also really like the composition of the family of 3 holding hands. My favorite part of this image is that it does not seem to look posed and their expressions are great, especially the look on the young boy's face! The surf in the foreground helps lead the eye into the photo. I like the sense of motion noticed in the mother's arm which adds interest and action to the shot. As far as color goes it is great with the bold colors that stand out from the pastel sky and beach.

I love this image because of what it portrays. A pregnant mother and her loving husband. The image is so tender because of the loving way the father is holding his wife's gravid belly. There is some attitude that I notice in the mother's facial expression and in the way she is holding her arms. I especially love the fact that it is in black and white. The only thing that I would suggest is that there are good blacks and grays but not real white whites to make the image really "pop." Wonderful composition!

I love this shot as it portrays true tenderness and kindness of one sister to another. It is in the look on her face and the hand on the sister's back. The composition is nice and the light is nice even under the umbrella. I can't tell if there was fill flash used or not. Their colorful dresses and umbrella add to the cheery atmosphere of the shot. Well captured.

I enjoyed this image of what look to be 3 brothers in profile. I love the soft window light that is lighting their young faces. I also like that each boy looks totally enthralled in what they are doing, perhaps playing games on their tablets or reading stories, etc... I also like that their hands are shown and also beautifully lit.

When I first saw this image I was struck by the amazing colors in the image which I love. I also like the composition of the shot with the food in the center. As we know, food brings families together. This image clearly shows a specific religious family custom which would benefit from a back story. I like the motion shown in the one boy's hand as he is reaching for the food. The only thing I would change is the basket of food in the upper right corner, it is a bit distracting and you do not want to crop some of the people out of the image. Well done.

I love this image because of the strong emotion that it emits. This photo was entitled, reunited, which tells you that they are extremely joyful! I love the tight, close up composition and that the hands are visible. I think that the image is in black and white helps to zero in on the faces and helps better portray the message. The only thing that I would change is to diminish the harshness of the light on the left. I would say you might want to crop it out but then you would lose the embrace of the boy's hand. Overall a very nice family image!

I give this one a commendation because there is always something special about a father taking his son to a baseball game. It is an image to keep forever! I love that composition of the image with the boy and father from the back. It is also shot from a child's perspective which I love. I also appreciate that the background is slightly blurred but not too much that you can not tell what is going on. The image seems a little grainy, which might be because of the low light situation. Nicely done.

I give this image a special commendation as I like the feel of it! A father sharing special moments with his daughter on the beach. I like the fact that the photographer captured the girl's legs bent and that her body stands out from the dark horizon line. I like the monochrome image, but would suggest that there are nice blacks and grays but need to have whiter whites to make it pop. Nicely done!

I give this one a special commendation as I really like the composition. I love the fact that there are 2 fathers walking with their young kids on their backs down a walkway with good leading lines. I really love the fact that the kids are holding hands and showing affection. I love the use of selective color in this image to focus on the people that are in color. Nicely done!

I love this image because it is simple but at the same time says so much! The positioning of the hands are great. I love the fact that the father's hand is rough, scarred and dirty which signifies the kind of life he lives compared to the infant's soft, white and tender hand. The lighting is great just highlighting the hands. I also like that we don't exactly know the sex of the baby but we could guess that it might be a boy by the blue sweater. We know that the father is a farmer and that some day he may hand over the farm to his son which is a wonderful family custom!

I love this shot as it made me laugh as I saw it. First, I am a church goer and when I was a kid I did not like going to church so this image sang to me! I love the different looks on the boys faces. T he one on the left checking his nails and not paying attention to the service. I especially love the look on the other boy's face. He looks unimpressed if not mad that he has to be in church let alone dressed up. I also enjoy the looks of the other people in the background, adds to make this image interesting for the viewer. I really like the side lighting from the church windows. Well done.

I love this image because there is so much going on in the image. The focal point of course is the newborn baby boy with family members positioned around him. There is a story here. Perhaps proud Grandpa is telling son and possibly father that his grandson looks just like him. I like the body language that the Grandpa is displaying with his hand. The composition is great with baby in the middle. Love the fact that the baby is contently focused on loving Grandma. The fact that there are 3 hands from 3 different generations makes the image more interesting. The portrait would have been better if the background was softly blurred, otherwise it is a bit distracting and take away from the focus of the main image.

I absolutely love the tenderness of this shot. A father looking down affectionately to his infant son or daughter. I also noticed that the new father is wearing a superman t-shirt which adds to the meaning of the shot. I love the nice close up composition of the shot as well as the nice blurred background to focus on just father and baby. I also like the fact that the 2 faces are nose to nose that adds to the intimacy and closeness of the shot. I love the emotions that it portrays, father's love and admiration and baby's contentment!