Both of these photographs are beautiful.
From a composition standpoint you’ve done a wonderful job. You’ve managed to eliminate dead space in your first photograph and use the child’s body position to help incorporate the interesting element of shape. You’ve also managed to capture a seemingly natural environment. The Child is not looking at the camera, but instead communicating their interest in something outside of the frame.
The color coordination is great. You’ve limited your color pallet to gradients of skin tone and burgundy. It’s a soft and gentle color palette which lends itself well to the facial expression and context of the photograph.
Your second image embodies many of the same elements mentioned above. You have a simple, yet communicative color palette. You’ve also used negative space well while avoiding incorporating any dead space. Great job.
The tower coming from the bottom left corner acts as a leading eye and allows the viewer’s eye to easily enter the image.
My only concern with both of these two photographs is you’re not being brave enough with the perspective of your photographs. You’re working close to your subjects, which is great because it allows you to more easily control your setting. When you watch independent films you’ll often notice this tight framing as well. It’s easier and cheaper to light smaller areas than large areas. But as a photographer you’ll soon start to feel limited and you’ll want to experiment capturing the wider world, busy city streets, landscapes and other complex scenes.
For example, look at how wide this shot is, yet it still maintains simplicity, color control and a strong message
http://www.art-for-a-change.com/blog/images/april08/reuters_witness.jpg
or
http://www.suvomoymitra.com/Images/profile_image.jpg
Notice they include much more of the surrounding environment. This is not an easy task, but one I would like to see you experiment with a little more.
What you’ve done isn’t wrong. In fact it’s great. I just want you to challenge yourself on bigger scenes.
Great work.