DSS70 - Love some dancers! Or my kitty :)

lkbart

So many subject choices this time - too many things I love! My favorite photos to take are always of dancing/dancers, so that's where I started. I usually prefer the action shots, but I saw a really awesome setup for adding "smoke" to some photos by way of flour & a fan, so I thought I'd try it. Of course, with my meager setup (no complaints, just not rich), things didn't go exactly like they did in the article I saw! I haven't come up with a name yet, but here's what I got - comments & suggestions would be great:
1 This was a setup shot before we started blowing flour

I don't understand what the black line is across his foot - it's not on my original when I upload it (same thing twice) and if I do an owner save, it's not there either, but there's obviously some mark across his foot here. (edit: Okay I can be slow sometimes - just realized it's my watermark!)
2 And the flour begins

3

4 By this time, the place was pretty much covered in flour!

To show the space we were working with in my basement, here's a shot of them playing with the flour after we were done! It was a blast (I say that because I haven't cleaned it up yet - I figure it's not going anywhere!).

If those don't work, our cat was kinda stir crazy this weekend playing in a Build-a-Bear box (which he doesn't really fit inside) & I got these:
5

6

7

Thanks for looking!

DsrtVW

#3 of the Dancers #1 of the cat

jbrown4849

I love the kitty curiously peaking out of the frame on #5 or the first kitty pic. It seems most natural with the heart frame.

davev

My favorite of these is #3.

The lines, the coloring, and the pose makes this the most pleasing for me.

kdotaylor

Another vote for #3

dnie

#3

indiegirl

I like the pose of #3 but don't dig the smoke (sorry). I submitted a "through-the-heart" shot once and got ripped apart (lol), but people ARE suckers for cute animals. I'd go with the dancers

lkbart

Thanks for the feedback Chris, jbrown, dave, Kate, Donna & indiegirl. I actually threw the kitty shots in there because people do seem to like them and aren't always so jazzed about dance shots. I'm glad the dance shots got more response than the cat shots because that is definitely my preference - my daughter wins out over our cat! Thanks for the help.

The smoke really didn't turn out the way I pictured in my head (thanks for the honesty!) so I did add a little fill on 3 & 4, & I'm noticing that her leg is a little grey in #3 - I'll have to back off the vignette & probably the fill some too before I enter it. My inspiration was this: http://www.behance.net/gallery/Passion-for-Dance/955719 and I knew I wouldn't be able to make it look that good, but I was hoping it would turn out better than it did. I really needed a room about 3-4 times as big as the one I have, bigger backdrop, better lighting, better lenses, full frame body, etc. etc.!!! :lol

The reason the last 2 cat shots may look a little "unnatural" is because our cat loves boxes & had crammed himself inside the not quite big enough box. We were playing with him through the heart holes when I got those, then he knocked the box over, crawled inside & was looking up through the side of the box when I got the first shot. That cat simply loves boxes, no matter what size!

And indiegirl - that is wild that you got ripped for a "through the heart" photo - I don't understand why - am I missing something? I actually took some shots just of the hearts to potentially use in the future as a frame.