Wow, so much amazing talent out there I just love it! Seeing everyones entries in our contest really blew me away and inspired me. The best thing I like about running this website is some of the great photographers that I have met who not only take amazing shots but are also awesome people. There were way too many good entries and it took me forever to slowly widdle the list down to 3. But it had to be done and here are the top 3 entries in our portrait contest. They all win a $100 giftcard from Black River Imaging, one of our very gracious sponsors.

#3 “Serene Reflections” by Alicia Candelora

portrait
I really loved the angle and composition of this shot. The toning is nice and subtle but adds to the image. Sometimes we can overtone or photoshop our images and this is done very well. The toning gives the image a very soft and romantic feel which goes great with this moment. Also the look of the bride and groom just captivates you and their reflection at first looks slightly different than their expression. I found myself going back and forth between the real faces and the reflection and that kept me captivated.

#2 Image by Matt Allen
portrait photography
Normally I suggest keeping people off the dead center of the frame and also keeping a persons hips slightly turned to the side. That will slim them down a little bit and add more impact to the image. But this image with this look of the model works only straight on like this. The glow of the backlit sun, the look of the model it all comes together perfectly to create a very peaceful and beautiful portrait.

And the #1 spot goes to “Boss” by Sasha Onyshchenko
portrait contest

WOW, that was my first reaction to this shot. A priceless expression of a child that ins’t the normal, smile be happy shot but really does tell a story I am sure about this kid. It really is what portraits are all about, capturing people at a certain point in their life, documenting memories for them to share and look back on for generations. The post production is also very intriguing here. There is a lot of burning around the edges and it all helps to keep your focus straight in the middle on the child. It’s Amazing! Thank you Sasha for sharing with us!

Thanks to everyone for entering, there was much more outstanding work that I was ready for and I thank you all for putting the time in to enter.
There also were a few more that were so outstanding I wanted to still recognize so I am going to do an honorary post for these next week! Be on the lookout for that and our next contest coming up soon.