We love bringing you images from readers whether they are just beginning or already pros…like this shot from Carrie Hasson!  Sometimes a shot just makes us smile.  Many elements combined like great angle, wonderful expression and beautiful colors all bring this story to life in one frame.  An outtake from a “bump” in her session.

I took this snap of Zoe the pug as I was preparing to photograph a little girl that she belongs to. Zoe is on the older side, and she has a new younger sibling, a pup that has 100 times the energy and 100 times less patience. Unfortunately, we had to postpone the shoot due to a nice sized goose-egg on the head of my little client that she endured after trying to rally the pups on top of the bed and instead threw her head back against the window sill:( Luckily, it was a friend and neighbor, and rescheduling was a cinch. In the midst of all the commotion, little Zoe decided to hide out in the dollhouse. The riley pup, you see, is bigger than Zoe and can’t fit:) Didn’t mean that the puppy didn’t try and try and try to get to Zoe, who by the way was raised in her early years surrounded by cats and is true to her nickname of Garfield the Cat. Have you ever known a dog to lick it’s paws and wipe it’s face with it’s paws? That would be Zoe. Have you ever known a dog to make feline hisses and growls at another dog, specifically a puppy that won’t stop barking and egging you on? That would be Zoe! Zoe aka Garfield:)

This shot was caught while mom was holding my little client on the bed, nursing her goose-egg and there was an ever so brief moment in time where said puppy pranced away from the dollhouse to check in on mom and daughter. In that instant, Zoe looked pleadingly in mom’s direction. I imagined her to be thinking something like this, “Come on mom, can’t you help a pug out?!”. And then as fast as I could snap the pic, the the puppy was back.

Shot info:
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
50mm 1/60sec at f/ 1.4
ISO 160

Spotted. is our ongoing section where we feature different photographs from Beyond Snapshots readers and tell you why we love the images.  While criticism has a valid place in teaching, we want to show you what works rather than what doesn’t.  Two images caught our eye recently in the Beyond Snapshots flickr group.  We would like to share them and some thoughts with you below:

While similar in that both of these shots use window for back light and a faceless subject for dramatic portraits, they set quite different moods with their small differences.
The situations behind the making of these images were as different as their resulting moods.

First is this shot by Sheila Lachney

The choice of black and white really makes this photograph timeless.
The light as a gradient from bright to dark draws the eye down to the subject.
The boy is so small (well placed in the bottom 3rd of the photograph) and his body language suggests some interest in what is out the window.
The choice to leave the handle of the door in the frame is a nice touch and leaves me wondering why the boy is not going out and merely watching from inside.  It also adds scale.
Small details like the corners pointing back into the frame keep the focus on the boy.
Repeating lines with the fence, shadows, drapes and door frame are well isolated in black and white and make the organic shape of the boy stand out.

Simple, gorgeous and haunting.

Canon Rebel XT with a 28 mm lens.

ISO 400
f/2.8
1/160 sec.

I had sent my son, Elliot,  to time out and he fussed for a
short time then was all the sudden very quiet.  I came in
from the kitchen and saw him behind the curtain, playing
with something on the floor.  I tip toed to my camera and
snapped this one real quick.  He never knew I even took it. (:

Now this shot by Charlie Jones

The spots of color in the softly shaped paper hearts is a bright juxtaposition to the cold and stark branches out the window.
The choice of cool tones in processing reflects the cold winter weather yet with a warm glow by her feet to keep the image itself from feeling cold.
The very straight line leads the eye down through the hearts to the feet.
TTV texture over top adds some visual interest and goes well with the surreal nature of the shot.
The little details of the propped up feet, curled toes and chipped nail polish tells the viewer a lot about the subject without ever seeing a face.

Bright, quiet and wintery.

Canon Digital Rebel XTi with
the 18-55mm kit lens.  Really really basic equipment.  I
overexposed some because I wanted to see her feet rather
than just a silhouette of them.
It was snowing these big huge feather snow flakes (in
February, hence the Valentine’s paper hearts) and Chloe
layed down on a pillow in front of the window to watch.  I
was going to take some shots of the snow but ended up beside
her on the floor.  She puts her feet on everything so of
course she stuck them up on the window.
I wanted it to really look like winter so the tones are
cool.  I think the use of the ttv layer makes it feel small
and intimate…just like the moment felt.

My, what pretty photos you take.

Often one will just catch our eye and we will talk about the reasons we love it.  That is how this new section, Spotted, came about.  While we know that constructive criticism helps a lot, we thought that it is so much better to learn from what is good rather than focusing on what is bad.  There is already too much negativity in this world.

We know that what is “good” is subjective, but the goal of the Spotted section is to help you learn how to look at photographs and keep those aspects in mind when you are shooting your own.

Each image featured in the Spotted section will be broken down in the following steps:

Composition – The details and form of a shot.

Color – and sometimes even the lack of color… Just the tone of the image set by the choice of colors.

Charm – The literal and emotional subject represented in the photograph.

Choices – Getting it right or making it work while breaking the rules.  The technical details of the shot.

We have the flickr group where you can submit photos for consideration or post links to your blogs on our facebook fan page wall.  We may just spot something of yours while we blog hop, but we will always ask first.

The photo we have selected to launch Spotted is:

rainy day. by Tracy Flaming

Composition – There is just so much of the composition to love.  Repetition…square within a square.  Repeat color blocking.  Graphic dividing lines that guide your eye around the shot.  The horse head on the t-shirt merging with the jeans of a similar color to almost merge the two subjects.  The phone cord creating a shape that mirrors the reigns of the horse.  The gray corners of the mother’s vest “pointing” back down into the shot.  And not to mention, the overall use of the rule of thirds.

Color - Keeping the image in 3 main colors ( grey, pink and tan) with white details creates order that defines the space.  The use of a small color palette simplifies a busy image.

Charm –  The connection between mother and daughter is apparent in the relaxed stance and the literal connection of hands being held.  The child’s quirky expression suits the quirky mood of the shot.

Choices – A great shot can be lost if it is not properly exposed.  Not always, but in this case, the perfect exposure just makes it easy to recognize all the other great aspects.  The low perspective works well in this case as it is unexpected in a self portrait taken by an adult.

While some of these things may be unintentional on the part of the photographer, all of the elements work to make a really great image.  What we hope you come away with from these segments is the ability to analyze photography considering many different factors.  Going beyond snapshots is not just merely learning how to master your camera, but understanding the components of great photographs.