Portraits of Children

Fantastic composition in this image, with the triangular positioning of the three boys, and the one closer to camera gifting us with such a powerful glance. The aperture is perfect: narrow enough that the front boy's eyes are in focus and we can make out the other figures in the background, but wide enough that anyone aside from the boy making eye contact gently blurs out to become context and not distract. A fantastic portrait shot, well done!

It is renownedly difficult to photograph young babies. They never stop moving and it is virtually impossible to make them pose. This image is the only one of a baby this young to make it to the top 10 of this competition. And no doubt it did! The subject is adorable, and the photographer did an incredible job in capturing his/her sweetness and innocence so beautifully, eyes to camera and all. The light is soft but still interesting, the catchlights in the eyes very appealing, and the high key look very suited to the subject and successfully executed. Last but not least, I love the white foreground blur, that conceals the 'nudity' whilst adding an extra ethereal touch to the image. Well done!

It's the subject's particular features and colours to be stars of the show here, but what makes this shot one of a kind is how such warm, pleasant tones are repeated in the clothing and the surroundings, making the image a unique work of art. If the editing on the boy's face to reduce brightness had been slightly more subtle I would have definitely awarded this image first place. Nevertheless, this is a fantastic portrait that deserves to be acclaimed. Well done!