Musical Instruments

What I love about this shot is it goes beyond the 'obvious'. There were many many shots of instruments and people playing instruments but only a small handful of shots like this showing a different aspect of the world of musical instruments.

The element of surprise, and as such, interest in subject matter definitely makes a big difference.

One thought - I know there is often a temptation to use a shallow depth of field, but in this instance I wonder if it might have worked better with slightly more depth of field. His face is a large part of the image, but out of focus.

Wow! What a stunning photo. There has clearly been so much thought put into this set up. I love the choice of a very striking unusual, black violin. The choice of black books to match works really well, and the red roses and the red book add a pop of colour to make this a really stunning photo. You've also done a great job of controlling the lighting in the scene.

I love this image because it shows a slightly different side of musical instruments. You have a great subject matter and have caught a moment of action as the wood is peeled from the violin casing. The one thing I would say is that perhaps it has been slightly over saturated with the orange looking slightly artificial and the highlights from the lamp a little bit overexposed. Apart from that this is a really really strong image that you should be very proud of!

This is a very strong portrait which feels like it has been very carefully stylised and expertly executed. The deep colour of the background combined with the deep colours of her clothes and hat go really well together. It is extremely hard taking portraits of people with instruments when they're not playing with them and I think the pose you have come up with here works really well. I'm not sure whether this is a crop from the original but with shots like this it always helps to perhaps have a little bit more space around the image as the eyes of the lady are extremely close to the top of the screen.

This image is absolutely stunning and one that I would absolutely love to have as a print on my wall! It has a fine art quality to it. The lighting is soft but still has lots of contrast and I think the square crop is a really strong choice. The one thing I would say is I wonder if you could have straightened up the verticals as they are currently slanting in slightly. Congratulations!

This image made me smile. Sometimes an emotional response it is all that is needed to create a great photo. Music is all about entertainment, energy, and emotion and I feel like this photograph encompasses all three of those things. Photos that are very much about the emotion rather than the composition or the lighting for example, often work really well in black-and-white as it removes the distraction of colours and lets the viewer focus solely on the content of the image, so I think the conversion to black and white was a great choice!

This photo very nearly made the top 10. I have certainly loved the set up with the neutral dark colours, the big soft light coming from the window, and the empty space around the subject. This is a really really strong portrait, but I wonder if the attention to detail of the pose, with perhaps putting the left hand on the instrument, or a version where she is looking out of the window, may have improved it. Great photo!

I love this shot, using intentional camera movement to create an abstract interpretation of a musical instrument. I think photography should not always be about capturing the absolute literal, but just about creating an impression that leaves someone feeling something, and to me this does that. I can imagine a set of 3 or 4 prints using this same technique looking great together when printed and framed next to each other on a wall!

I can almost hear the drum beat in this photograph. I love the vibrant colours, the sense of energy and fun, and you can almost feel what it is like to be a part of that scene! Congratulations on a great shot!

This image is great! I love the soft lighting coming from the left-hand side to light the face, and it also has a sense of storytelling to it. Music is often about emotion and I feel in this we feel some, wondering what the baby is thinking as he is playing the keys of the piano perhaps for the first time.

There were literally hundreds of close-up shots of guitars in this competition. The reason I chose this one for my top 10 is that I feel like you have managed to almost create something that is, while not totally abstract, certainly not a literal representation of the guitar. The curves of the guitar and shape of the strings work perfectly to create a carefully thought out composition. I can imagine it's looking really great as a big print on a wall.

Yes! This is what music is all about! You can almost feel the energy, excitement and emotion as he jumps into the air. The movement in his long hair, look on his face, and jump really adds to that sense of motion, and I love the choice of dark background and the shape of the guitar.

I love this unusual angle of someone playing the piano. The composition is extremely clean with the focus of the eyes going directly to the piano and his fingers playing it. I love the conversion to black-and-white as this image is very much about the shapes of the piano and the strong composition, and I suspect the colours would only have been a distraction from this.

This image really stood out amongst the portraits of people playing musical instruments, as I feel it has a fantastic sense of story to it. It has emotion as you feel a connection between the mother and the child, and I think the colour tones from the edit and the soft colour palette let the focus be those emotions rather than the surroundings.

I absolutely love the sense of scale that has been achieved in this photo. At first when you look at the photo you almost don't notice the lady playing the organ, but on closer inspection you see her sat there.

I think the composition is extremely strong, including the paintings and arch on the ceiling. My one suggestion would be to correct the verticals in the image so that the columns on the left and right are absolutely vertical.

This image is fantastic. I find my eyes moving around the image from the man playing the violin on the right hand side, to the painting through the door of a man riding horse, to the painting of the man sat on the left-hand side of the shot. The composition is also extremely strong with the three points of focus, and the lighting in the image also works really well with the soft image coming from the right hand side. This image, while being busy, also has a sense of calm with the look on the face of the man playing his violin.