Personally, I'm not into kids shot... Specially messy shots like this one... However, it is a good portrait your child will enjoy in the future. There is something odd in the eyes I can't exactly point out, but IMHO it takes a lot from the image.
Well, people here always like when the subject looks into the camera. However, I think this shot would have lost a lot of it's charm if there where the case. I think the pose is perfect. Only suggestion is the focus seems to be on the hair rather than the eyes. But it is quite minor. Very fun portrait.
I gave this a 5. Frankly I do not usually like portraits, especially of kids I do not know. It's got to be something really special to make me score it higher. I think the eyes could be sharper here as well. For what it's worth, I gave the blue ribbon winner a 5 as well.
I'm a messy icky hater type so I'll comment on this. The thing is most people have seen/raised kids. They have seen them snotty nosed, messy, sick, happy, angelic and all the other kid stuff. They have their own treasure trove of pictures just like this one. So....I guess it's not a unique picture. I know, it has been said that nothing is unique, but look at winning entries of children and I think you will see the difference between this and those right away. There is something in the others that draws the viewer into the scene. Something that clicks emotionally.
However it is really well taken. As a portrait, I like the lighting and his/her little hand up by the cheek. I like the fill-the-frame crop(well, I'd like a little more room around the baby, especially over on the right of the frame) and the detail in the hair and the color is perfect. You did a good job but I really don't think messy kids are that cute. Lucky I didn't vote but this opinion might be carried by other voters.
I'd get rid of whatever that white ring is behind the baby. Direct eye contact might be good too.
For a portrait you want the eyes to be very sharp - the most in-focus thing in the shot. They appear a bit soft here. Try another sharpening pass and see what happens. If you edit on an LCD screen, it will probably appear too sharp, but upload and see what it looks like from the website. You can also try sharpening just the eyes, either by masking or selecting them, or using a sharpening spot tool.
As for the messy face, yes, I get that this is what you were after. But do realize that not all viewers find it "cute" - some find it just messy and icky! :-)
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