AG|WPJA The Artistic Guild of the WPJA

Judges Comment: It's rare to capture a really nice dance image from overhead, this one came together beautifully! Everyone seems to be in the right place, even the arms of the bride as she's swished across the dance floor. The toning accents the beauty of the room and the vignette works well with the wide angle lens choice. A beautiful sense of place that the bride will remember forever!

Judges Comment: First off, what a great location for a reception - it sure makes for quirky and fun images. I really like the repetitiveness of the circles (bowling balls) and the hot pink one the bride is using makes for a great entry point into the image. This is a good use of image de-saturation and cross processing.

Judges Comment: Way to get in there and be a part of the celebration. While the bride's dress is practically blown out, in this instance it works with the shapes and blurriness of the image. This photograph has really good energy and strength of composition. It could use a little more depth in the blacks of the background.

Judges Comment: Side images at receptions can speak volumes and this one really does. Making it b&w creates a timeless, classic look to the image. You may want to toy with making this image a square, really cropping it tight to emphasize the tight hug the kid is getting. It would also crop out the distracting shoulder on the left side of the frame that doesn't serve a purpose in the photograph.

Judges Comment: The almost kiss is just as good if not better than the kiss itself especially when dealing with silhouettes. I'm not sure if the background was taken out or this happened against a window, either way, a sweet image!

Judges Comment: Ah, the sorority song ... this is a well-executed image, a good use of light, as well as good composition. Way to push yourself in there and become one of the gang! The tone of the image has a wide range of grays and the dress maintains detail, well-done!

Judges Comment: The "quiet" happiness of this dance shown by the bride is a lovely moment. I think the image would benefit from being converted to a straight black and white. Little things like the black line of the door frame in the lower left corner of the frame distracts my eye and could be easily fixed. Wonderful moment!

Judges Comment: Not only is the photo funny to begin with but the post processing (HDR?) adds to the quirky image. I'd love to see the out takes of this image!

Judges Comment: This photograph feels like a postcard with the added blurred motion, unusual vignette processing and the shapes of the sails. In all of the chaos of lines, angles and motion, everything seems to come together to create a beautiful image.

Judges Comment: What a cool bubble scene, too often there are not enough bubbles or too many covering the couple's faces. I like that you looked for a different angle to cover this scene. It's not always about the faces. I think you pulled off a great scene setter to this pretty reception. The tone job on the photograph also accentuates the warmness of the setting. Small suggestion, dodge out the bride's dress to help with a quicker point of entry.

Judges Comment: It's getting hot in here! This image captures the location perfectly. The warmth and glow cast a sensual aura around the couple as if they're the only people in the world. If you could have gotten just a little bit higher you could have alleviated the merge of the man's head with the beam across the top of the frame and used the graphic lines of the structure a little more to your advantage. You may want to think about cropping out some of the left side of the frame to take the couple slightly off-center.

Judges Comment: It's not football season yet but I think the photographer is ready to capture some near-misses. You may want to put more of a vignette on the image, especially across the bottom and right corner to help focus your eye on the garter.

Judges Comment: Kudos to the photographer for hustling to a high location to get his image. First/last dances don't usually last very long but taking a timing risk to capture this image was well worth the hustle. I like that the background is slightly blurred creating a softer background for the couple. The blurring is a bit uneven across the floor (above the shadow) and would be noticeable in a large print.

Judges Comment: Receptions can get long and sometimes it seems like not much is going on. That's the time to turn around and look for different angles, use of light a little differently and great reflections. I really like how the vertical lines in the background work well with the ladies dancing. The warmth of the photograph is a nice touch and makes the scene feel even more like a late-night club.

Judges Comment: A good use of off-camera flash while maintaining the ambiance of the room. Most inexperienced photographers who attempt off-camera lighting often destroy the look and feel of the room, not with this image! I would suggest opening up the shadows just a tad as well as burning down the white ribbon in the bottom left hand corner.

Judges Comment: A really nice moment but the toning gets in the way of the emotion. My eye gets stuck on the relatives arm in the foreground, the area is too hot. Diffusion is a great tool but too much can overwhelm the image. This is a lovely moment, let the viewer take it all in. Tone down the lower foreground and you'll have a beautiful image!

Judges Comment: A good sense of place, graphics and composition make this image stand out. The dusk light and outdoor setting definitely worked to your advantage. Minor suggestion, burn down the white area to the right of the groom and the bride will pop!

Judges Comment: This must be from a second-shooter (I can see a main in front of the couple on the ground) also, as a second shooter you get to look for unique ways to cover certain events throughout the wedding. I haven't seen a sparkler exit from above but next time I'm going to keep my eyes peeled for this opportunity. The toning of the image could use some work, it looks a bit flat throughout and the black point is too heavy. Great eye!

Judges Comment: While the sepia tone of the image is a little blown out (hint, bring down the highlights before you run a sepia action to maintain highlights) this is a nice moment and composition. Be careful when toning a photograph, the lower left corner of the image almost goes B&W which leads to an inconsistent tone across the photograph. I like the out of focus little girl in the background that mimics the foreground.