New Joiners - People #536

This is a really good idea composition-wise; a longish lens that works diagonally to frame a scene. I think that the execution could however do with a bit of work. Firstly, the exposure is a little off - highlights are starting to blow and the sky is washed out. A more accurate take, even in what might well be the middle of the day would help. Secondly - and sometimes this can't be helped - we have the chap nearest to us and in focus, staring straight down the barrel. A second or so sooner or later might have given a stronger frame but this isn't bad at all.

An ethereal image that both gives us information and asks questions. I'm not sure that this is an image in a mirror - more likely a window reflection into the garden - but it shows a highly imaginative composition blending two zones into one. Neither image is conventionally 'sharp' but the effect - the pale face and the golden light on the leaves is absolutely lovely.

There is a picture in here but this isn't quite it. If you were trying to capture atmosphere, well then the colours certainly do that - but we usually recognise a subject when we can more see what they're doing, and the barmaid's task is obscured by her back. A little bit nearer and a bit more thought about how you might show this more clearly - with both physical and emotional closeness - would have made this work better.

I don't think your gear is the issue here. This isn't a bad frame - although I sense a reactive shot from above which looks like snatch. Rather your exposure that has rendered the sunlight as blown highlights. It looks like a situation where the correct exposure for those highlights might have rendered the shadows really deep so it's always a compromise - and sometimes images like this will simply not work - but it is a lovely moment.

Sometimes the meaning of a personal image is more important than its merits as a photograph. I think that this may be a case in point - and there's nothing wrong with that. Still, a shutter speed of more than 1/30th would have meant that more of the image would have been sharper - even if that meant pushing the ASA a couple of stops. That said, you have a lovely image of your boy at 2, and that I'm sure, is priceless.

This has all the hallmarks of a quick decision from the car. Nothing wrong with that of course, and I like the composition that gives a clue to the surrounds and the job - but it does make the power interplay here - evidenced by the man's rather gloomy expression - significant and entirely evident. The swift decision perhaps has also resulted in an exposure that could have been more accurate - here the highlights have all but blown in the white of his shirt and again in the sky. Sometimes, even if we don't speak the language, some time for communication - which additionally might give time to think of the technicalities and how the final frame will look, is useful.

I really like this. A very strong exposure and the silhouette of the 'fallen' branch leads us out into the lake and its reflective sunset. I'm not sure that the figure - although welcome (for scale if little else) is even needed - the image is as strong without. An excellent, restive and meditative effort. Well done.

I think that this is a cracking image - an almost abstract rendering of a chaos of bodies with a very fortuitous angle. Which makes the poor exposure all the more of a shame. Clearly this is in the middle of the day but a better manual rendering of exposure would have captured the scene better - still, a good effort.

Sometimes an image doesn't have to be perfect and sometimes it's even the case that those imperfections make an image. The is a case in point, The frame is verging on the overexposed - the highlights are going and it isn't sharp on the girl's face (perhaps the autofocus has been fooled by the grass) - but it oozes feeling and emotion and for that reason, it's lovely. Well done.

This is an absolutely arresting image that is both cleverly done and a little disturbing. The close crop isn't entirely 'perfect' - the mouth is bisected but that doesn't really matter because that focuses us even more hypnotically on the eyes. For me however it's the curl of the hair at either side of the image that frames the stare. Riveting if rather eerie.

Whilst this does show to some extent the city rush as the captions explains, it achieves this without being clear exactly what it means. The intrusion of a detail like the car can certainly be a useful device in showing what's happening but here, it's clearly the first woman that's the focus. The problem is that she isn't solely the main interest because she isn't isolated either by framing or aperture and that the background is very distracting doesn't help. This frame would have worked either with a longer lens to isolate her and exclude the background, or as a slightly wider landscape to show us the scene evolving. Still, a good effort.

I really like this and I think part of its charm is its (slightly and charmingly) flawed nature. I like the framing here, the randomness of the balls but mostly what I like is the softness and the warmth (that might be due to both slight movement and an incorrect, auto colour balance). All that said, it's well seen and sometimes imperfections are strengths. Well done.

This is, as the caption suggests, a really joyful moment. That said, the composition catches only one aspect of it clearly - the engaging laugh of the chap that faces us. It's a real shame that the next couple are partially revealed - or not revealed at all - and I really want to see the first chap's hand on his partner's back. Sometimes, we can get close enough, quickly enough but I always try and get people to thunk what they want in a frame and then manoeuvre themselves into a position to try and get it. A good effort.

Generally speaking I'm not a huge fan of capturing those whose work or lives are on the streets, unawares - but this is - by its focus, exposure and its composition, a strong frame. I really like the humour and the way that you've followed the format of the bench with the landscape framing. The hanging hand is lovely and is the detail that elevates the whole photograph I think. Overall, an excellent moment captured.

Although this does what it says it does ('a winning smile') it's neither simply a portrait of that boy's smile nor a wider shot of his location. It's always tricky in a split second but moving ourselves around the subject and trying to find a background that is harmonious with the foreground (so that there's not a water bottle sticking out of someone's ear) is always a good idea. Still, it IS a really nice smile captured.