Messy

In this one they are closer to the light, hence it is warmer. I like

the interaction between brother and sister here.

Great shot, i looked at the hands first then over to the little brother and he makes you look back at the hands and then beyond to make eye contact with the little girl. Very well done. The background is a little too close and i would have liked to see more colours (more red) but still a great shot. Jim.

I note their hair is innocent of paint, Jeff - don't blame you. Very well conceived, I like the composition and am pleased to see the white T-shirts and blond/e hair working against a white background. The fact that the background is crumpled seems to add to the overall tone of messy-ness. The children appear to be having a ball, totally relaxed. Well done.

This one works. I'm not getting the dissonance here, perhaps because there is nothing neat about this one. Well done.

Hi Jeff, Yes I too really like this photo.

Here is the link to my suggested edit& crop.

http://www.geocities.com/vbice2001/UP.html?1031027447050

I think you have two good shots here, but combined, not so much. If you split this right down the middle, giving each child it own space, I think you have two compelling images, with the girls being more so than the boys. The way that the girl has framed her eye for you is great. They really should be closer together for this type of portrait. I think this might have been a case of just trying to do too much.

...She's totally stealing the show. She's got that eye that's not only framed by those dark blue hands, but staring right at you... and then... he's looking at her, so even when you try and focus on him... he's not the focal point. She's also a bit higher in the image, and takes visual presidence. He looks like he's about to do what she's doing ;) I like the warmer tones in this one.

-Just my read.