I thought this is what I posted. It seems that I always make mistakes. This is why I was laughing at neenee's posting. She said 1 and I thought I said 2 but when I looked closer, I said the same thing she did. I have to double check next time. I do like the 2 much better. But is just me.
I do like the fact that the first one doesn't have the pole behind you, but I do like the lighting and facial expression of the second. Have you tried cloning over the pole in the second one with more leaves and background, instead of the pole? I've done that before in order to rid some element that I feel is distracting.
Picture #1 , don't like that pole behind you on #2 kind of distracting.
I suppose he wants to send it to his family or some friends, not to a competition. They won't even see the pole behind him. It would bother them only if it was "in front" of him covering his face. And hey, I'm a girl... we know what to look for in a man's picture! :)
