Both are really great shots Anne. In the first photograph you’ve really done a great job of pulling the viewers eyes towards your main subject by blurring the background. You’ve also chosen great aperture settings because you haven’t lost the context of the shot at all. We can still see the ocean, the flowers and sky, which all help to create a beautiful mood. You’ve also managed to capture a great expression on your son’s face. It’s a candid shot and almost all photographers agree that great portraits happen when they are unplanned. This photograph has a very beautiful and natural aura to it.
I can see your experimenting with your artistic ability in your second photograph. It’s a great concept. Playing around with reflections and shadows are two great ways to experiment with the artistic side of photograph. You also have water close to where this picture is taken. Consider using that as a reflective surface and try similar ideas when the sun in the right position to cast interesting reflections.
You can sometimes bring out the shadows and reflection better if you increase the contrast in your shots. This enhances the “dark tones” and slightly darkens the light tones. But overall it puts more emphasis on the shadow. By increasing the contrast in this photograph look at what happens in the example I provided below.
Most impressively, with this shot you’ve managed to use “color simplicity” with great success. The varying ranges of oranges add a very dramatic and upbeat feel to this photograph.
Wonderful job!