I’m incredibly happy with your work on this assignment.
I love when photographers start experimenting with lighting, direction and lighting color. I’m not sure if we’ve shared this with you before but please find the time to watch the following two lighting tutorials:
Basic lighting tutorial: Direction, intensity, lighting balance etc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6JFVHRwJwc&feature=channel_page
Color temperature lighting tutorial:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwqNRqDx680&feature=channel
While both videos are aimed at filmmakers, the principles are exactly the same for photographers.
In your first image, you’ve used directional lighting with no lighting bounced back to fill in the shadows. The dark shadows in this case are intentional and give the photograph a very dramatic look. You also have many other great compositional elements here as well. You have no dead space above your subjects head, great color control and simplification, a sense of depth and a well isolated main subject.
Your second image is also very well composed and I love that you’re experimenting with bounced light, but I don’t like the lack of clarity around the child’s eyes. As you’ve shown in your first photograph, so much is communicated through your subject’s eyes. However, in your second photograph due to the way the lighting is hitting your subject or too shallow of a depth of field, your subject’s eyes are out of focus. Eyes are arguably the most important part of a portrait so it’s important that you have some type of motivation for blurring them out. In this photograph I can’t see the motivation so it looks unintentional. It’s such a beautiful photograph otherwise. Full of potential.
Overall, great work!