Northwest – July 2020 – Portrait/Illustration

Judges Comments

This was a pretty easy category to judge. A lot of entries were simply not portraits, but candid photos of individuals that either lacked a compelling visual, or simply didn't tell us anything about the person in a way that accomplishes the mission of a portrait. First jumped right out for the dynamic composition, bold colors and strong use of the light. The crop was a risk, but we liked the focus on the subjects eyes. Second could have used a slightly tighter crop. We really don't think the roof of the house is necessary to establish context. We liked the body language of the couple, it felt like it was a "moment", and the light is simple and effective. As with the first two, third was a natural light portrait, and really nice for that. The context is probably only useful to the local viewer, but the composition and pose work very nicely.

Judges: Sean D. Elliot/The Day, Michael G. Seamans/Morning Sentinel, Jim Evans/Retired