Hold Tight, The Man Inside Awakens

Please let me know how I can improve upon an image like this. Any input

would be greatly appreciated.

Hi Christopher

I like the image, it's strong. I like the fact that the woman is not looking at the child but the kid's eye was caught by something. I also like that the kid's expression makes me wonder where is  he looking, or if he's looking at something at all or is he thinking. That is very good in my opinion. I also liked the fact that you overexposed the background, it gives the picture a special mood, and also it doesn't distract the eye from the subject. I like the fact that you didn't clean the noise from the picture - it's a great look. And also I love the fact that both the woman and the kid are natural (not post-processed with "spot healing brush" or any other things like that)

Now, from the tile and not only, I understand that the kid is the main subject. In this case, what I would've done (if I were you) is I would've cropped the image and keep from the woman's face only from the forehead down (maybe even more, not even all her forehead). Down to the hands, I would have cut from lower hand a bit. And so the context is that the hug would become a sort of a "frame" for the kid.

If you have time and you would like, please take a look at this link (David DuChemin). That picture is similar with yours in many ways but I wanted to show you what I meant by "make the kid the subject of your picture" (http://www.pixelatedimage.com/blog/2009/10/being-there/)

Thanks for sharing this great picture and good luck, Ana :)