Cat on the window sill.

[photophorous]

I was reading on the Ritz website about tips for entering photos into contests, and they said not to bore the judges with things like cat's looking out a window, so I went and took a picture of my girlfriend's cat looking out the window. Actually, I was just trying to finish off the roll and it turned out to be one of the best shots.

This is my first critique, but that doesn't mean you should take it easy on me. Please let me know what you honestly think.

Thanks,
Paul

Nikon N75
Nikkor AF 28-105D IF
Ilford XP-2 film
scanned by Wolf camera.

[SmartWombat]

The reflections are intersting.
I'd like to get in closer.
Particularlt with the over-exposed paws
And the dark bar in the baclground.

I'd love to see the cat's head, and the two reflections in the window.
That's 3 cats for the price of one

Move the can forward a bit to get the edges of the window out of shot.
Move right a bit and/or pan left more.

[gahspidy]

This is not a bad shot at all. I feel the overexposed areas such as the paws are actually adding to the dreamy quality here and are soft somewhat diffused. You could remove the post on the top right corner by cloning it out. I can feel the softness of the cats fur and the reflection is nice. I do not like to see the shadows behind the cats paws , and having a reflector such as a white board above and behind the cats would have reduced it .To have made this all the better, the window sill and frame would be more interesting such as an old wooden rustic type or something with some character. Overall this is a decent image . Look forward to seeing more work from you.

[photophorous]

Thanks for the input guys. Here's another one from that day, with less over-exposure, less shadow, less blinds in the top right corner, and unfortunately less reflection. It's not wothy of a new post, but I'd like to hear what you think anyway.

Thanks,
Paul

[gahspidy]

Very nice as well, with good crisp focus on the eye. Clipping the tips of the ears off is not good here, i feel.

[SmartWombat]

To me, this is the kind of photo they were warning about.

It's lost the reflections that made the other shot so special.
And the clipped ears are unforfunate.

I like the other one much more.