Hello and thank you for submitting this assignment. I like both ideas and you’ve incorporated some very interesting elements into both photographs. For example you make use of reflection in your first photograph and showing movement within water in your second photograph. Very well done.
My main concern is with your first photograph. The photograph uses a formal type of balance meaning that it is very centered and symmetrical. In fact, this type of balance is found in both your photographs (although it’s more noticeable in your first photograph). It would be nice if you played with object positioning slightly more by using the rule of thirds (to be discussed in your next lesson) as a guide. It would help make your photographs more dramatic and interesting.
My main technical concern is that your first shot should have been showing a shallow depth of field, but it does not appear to be very shallow. This could be because of technical limitations of your camera, but you can usually force a shallow depth of field by moving close and focusing on the part of the object that is closest to the background. This will often create a shallow depth of field even if the camera doesn’t have manual depth of field control. Also same cameras have “manual focus”. Sometimes this setting is in the digital menu. Try looking for it there.
So I want to see you work on your composition a little more and try finding the depth of field control in your camera. It will make your photographs much more organized and you’ll be able to control the object isolation much more.
I look forward to seeing your next assignment!