Portraits

It's important to include location as part of your story. In this outside shot, the space really highlights the concept of thoughtfulness and wonder. Profile angle, along with shadow, makes the subject represent the idea rather than just a face of a person.

This lovely black and white shot looks styled and posed, but I reckon everything was there when the photographer arrived.

This shot speaks of youth without a iphone or an ipad. Great snapshot and composition. Perhaps having a little more of the body in the shot would have helped.

Playful, fun and simple. It defies our ideas of age and, through an unusual angle, gravity. It's difficult to have two people in a photograph without one taking the limelight, but this image has perfect balance.

Wise beyond his years. I love works that turn standard ideas on their head. This child looks wise and knowledgable, sipping his tea and putting the world to right.

I love the use of light here. There is history in the shot, but the man is looking ahead - subtle concept and done very naturally.

Playing with surfaces can be interesting - it adds a new dimension to a photo. Here the model is quite erie-looking, but you have the playfulness of the wiped glass. Vignetting also works well here as it mirrors the shape of the moisture.

With its film texture and snapshot mood, this photo has done really well to stand out amongst so many child portrait submissions. It has a narrative about childhood in its essence with its playfulness and carefree attitude. This cropped image feels like the Photographer has really captured the moment.

Excellent and ambitious image that shouts masculinity. The slight lack in saturation helps with a sense of location.

Grainy, dirty, dark and intense. This shot really captures the mood. Photography, like music, is a universal language, and we don't have to hear what the subject is playing to understand the feeling.

Having worked in a kitchen before, I understand how amazing it can be. The use of graphics really lifts the idea of what it is like to be around food and cooking. Rather than having just a grey space, the set-up and styled look are fantastic.

As a photographer, if you can find a narrative in your sitter, you have done your job. Well, in this case we can imagine our own narrative. And this is not a bad thing. Mine would be that it's an image of hope with someone settling into a new phase in their life. I could be totally wrong, but it's really what I see in it.

At-work photos are always difficult to do, and this image of a pilot is a great example of a successful shot in this genre. Along with great use of editing, the lights and symbols make the space look "magical" as if the sitter is on stage, about to perform, highlighting the importance of the job.