Smartphone - 25 and under

This portrait jumped out at me instantly during the selection. The use of negative space and strong directional lighting emphasises the subject’s profile beautifully. The sharpness of the image invites the viewer to stop a while and study the lines and patterns made by the hair, freckles and woven lines in the fabric. Wonderfully executed portrait.

Such a joyful and happy image. I can’t help but smile every time I look at this. The children have such big smiles, the way their bright white teeth pop out of the dark tones in the image realm draws the eye to the smiles. The use of black and white over colour in this image has allowed the composition to be about the lines, curves and the shapes without the distracting colour element.

The photographer has captured a lovely looking scene and the colours are captivating and saturated. If I were to make suggestions on how to improve this shot I would say work a bit harder on the composition. Come in closer to the poppies so they fill the foreground and loose some of the blue sky and it's a bland negative space.

The light in this shot is simply fantastic and creates interesting shapes and tones in the image whilst illuminating and hiding subjects in the composition. The highlights and shadows have been processed well and the black and white finish adds to the overall impact.

A powerful portrait. The dark blue folds of fabric catch the light and frame the face beautifully and the contrast between the fabric and skin tones works very well to enhance and communicate the various textures in the image. The close cropping gives the viewer no escape from the intense emotion captured on the face. A portrait that raises many questions, meaning the viewer lingers longer to try to understand the depth of meaning here.