C&C - Check out these shadows...bad, or interesting?

[Breanna]

Had a shoot with two little boys at the park on Wednesday evening. 6:30 pm, due to their bedtimes, and it was still very sunny....so I went with it. Personally, I found the shadows and lighting to be interesting in many of them. Thoughts?

(I meant to edit out the blemishes on his face, but I'm at work and can't do it until I get back home)

 

[KmH]

Here's my thoughts.

The shadow in #1 makes it look like he's missing his right eye. I'd use the fill slider in ACR or dodge on a new layer to bring back some detail there. That's a cute, serious expression he's got so it's definately worth the extra effort. Edit: I tried to bring back some detail to the right iris but it's mostly blocked (no detail, opposite of blown highlights). Not enough pixels would come back to make it look natural. So, all I did was add Fill and some Clarity in ACR.

#2 works. If you did a bit of dodge on him and burn on the background it could be even better.

 

[blondie621]

Beautiful pics Breanna! I like the shadows (lighting)! That is true photography! :thumbup:

 

[JP164]

Disclaimer: I am not a pro photographer.
The shadows in #1 are a bit distracting and take away from the expression.
I think #2 is a great portrait....awesome job!

 

[Sherman Banks]

I don't think it adds anything visually interesting to the first but the second is a nice shot.