Boy enjoying the beach

We took our sons to the beach yesterday. They knew I was taking pictures of them but ignored me as requested. The day was bright but somewhat overcast. This shot with him standing is cropped from it's original version which included some people in the water in the background. Also, I'm not sure about the color. I need to get one of those gadgets to calibrate my monitor. In the shot with him sitting down I cloned out the people in the water and cropped it. Any critique is welcome.

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The clone job is nice, I couldn't even tell that you did any work to the second photo. I prefer the cooler photo to the warm hue in the second one. But I just did a beach shot and I like to boost the colors a bit. I like the shots though, very natural and unrehearsed. I'm new, but I definitely like what I see here. Good job.

How about this version? I cloned out the white water near his head, dodged his face a bit and tried to fix the color a little. Oh, and I cropped it closer.

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I like 'em.

Have you thought about trying them in black & white? You might be surprised...

Technically they look good. Maybe a little more light in the eyes using fill flash, but certainly not required. The only thing I don't like is that they feel disconnected. Kinda like paparazzi shots if you know what I mean. There isn't a connection betwween the viewer and the subject. Make sense?

Lava Lamp, Yes I have thought about B&W. In fact I did one that way, I just didn't post it. I know what you mean about the connection with the viewer. I didn't want them to look posed so I told the boys not to look at me. I had to, because the first thing they did when I got my camera out was stop moving and smile at me. They are such hams! I'll try some with them looking at me, but not smiling really big.
BTW I love Photoshop!! I spent hours using it today.