Magical Christmas

This certainly looks like a warm and welcoming place to spend a while over a drink or two on a cold winter's evening over Christmas. The low light levels and the warm golden glow make it seem especially inviting and also draws the viewer into the frame. The Christmas decorations are subtle and stylish, but add a sense of festive cheer. Superb capture of the mood. Well done on your top ten placing.

A simple subject but well captured. Photographing candle flames is never easy, but the balance of exposure seems just right here, as the flames are not too bright, and yet there is sufficient light to nicely illuminate the rest of the festive subject. Colours are lovely, rich without being over-saturated. Well done on your top ten placing.

I really love this image of a beautiful and rather rustic take on a festive wreath adorning the door to welcome guests at Christmas. Everything about the image is subtle and understated, and for that reason in stsnds out amongst the bright and blingy captured in many other images. Lighting is lovely, and the eye is drawn to the main part of the door decoration and the charming gingerbread character. The matte-effect procesding style really suits the subject and brings a lovely feel to the shot. Congratulations on your winning image.

A fascinating study of a young child and new toy; if only we knew what he was thinking. Maybe puzzling slightly over this strange new character, hopefully soon to be a great friend and comforter. A brave decision to present the image as black and white, but I think it works well, and the lighting and tones are all great. Importantly for this contest, the little bokeh speckles on the right hint at lights on a Christmas tree to persuade us that this is Christmas. Great work, well done on your top ten placing.

The rich golden yellows are an instant draw to this image, with shades of the one colour filling the frame. The shallow depth of field suits the subject, as we get the central section of the star decoration in sharp focus, with the remainder falling into soft focus, with some lovely little bokeh highlights added in for good measure. Great image, well done on your top ten placing.

A super shot of the Christmas lights in central London, with the exposure well balanced to avoid the lights being over-bright. There is no shooting data attached, but the image looks to have been captured with a slower shutter speed, with the light trails from what is likely to be a passing bus adding interest to the scene. The reflections of the lights on the wet road and pavement bring further life to the shot, despite the relative lack of human activity on a normally busy street. Well done on your top ten placing.

This image rose up through the placings during by judging and was only just pipped to the top spot. Composition is great, with the main subjects positioned on the table in the foreground. We are however treated to a view either side, on the right to the warm glow of the burning fire, and on the left to the purple haze cast by the Christmas tree lights. The placement of the purple baubles on the other half of the frame brings a lovely balance. I am sure everything has been precisely placed in the composition, but the set-up retains an un-forced natural feel. Congratulations on your second place finish.

A great flat-lay image of some tempting feative gingerbreads. Composition works well, as it can often be surprisingly difficult to get a set-up that works well; knowing where to crop; knowing how much space to leave around the subjects etc. Also challenging is to work with a fine powder like icing sugar, and you have done well to leave the star shapes clear of sugar, whether though precise and careful sprinkling and lifting of objects, or a little cleaning up in post-processing. Colours are rich and natural-looking, making for a super shot of a tempting festive treat. Well done on your top ten placing.

This image really captures the magic of Christmas. Lighting is lovely, with the golden glow illuminating the child's joyful face as she reaches up to the decorated tree. What also works well is the window as the backdrop, looking to be captured at night with no view through the glass to distract, and what we instead get is some lovely bokeh reflections of the Christmas tree lights, which add a little sparkle in the background too. A wonderfully joyful image, congratulations on your third place finish.

The gorgeously rich colours in this image really make it stand out from some of the more brash and garish Christmas bauble shots. The subdued lighting brings a great mood, and the highlights on the baubles really bring the image to life. I especially like that there is some textural detail in the background, rather than a sterile plain backdrop, which adds to the touch of luxury. Great image, well done on your top ten placing.