Dungeons
Annouille 
Eldaena 
Kitori 
Stephen
Judge’s Critiques
Ciara
Stephen-
Winner winner chicken dinner! This shot has everything! great lighting, an air of suspense, a story and fits the whole “tell a story” so many after in this competition. I love your selection of clothing and it didn’t take me more than a millisecond to know what you were going for and I approve! Love it!
Kitori-
This is a great shot for a risque and I really feel you pulled it off! I love your pose in this shot and give you kudos for taking the risk to make it happen. The only thing I would change is your bottoms. I almost feel like it comes off a little NSFW when looked at first! Still I love that you took this risk and I’m super proud of you!
Annouille-
Basked in the light of the moon you rock that dark look from the outfit to your horns and the FANTASTIC lighting. Truth be told I love everything about this shot and I’m really impressed. Great job Annouille!
Eldaena-
I’ve always loved this area and had thought to take pictures but you captured my imagination perfectly! The colors are so warm and you look gorgeous. You took a risk in your pose and I think like Kitori it really paid off. Lovely job Eldaena!
Nozomi
Stephen Fairbrook –
I’m liking the story in your shot this week, Stephen! I can imagine your little potato exploring crypts and stuff for treasures and gil, or perhaps he’s a detective looking into a murder that stumbled on the trap that killed your client’s friend. Point is the viewer can imagine stuff because your shot had a story all on its own and your sentence just added a tiny bit of context to guide our minds in the right direction. Pretty good lighting; a bit too much similar tone in your surroundings that had the potential to get you lost in the background but somehow it doesn’t. Normally I would recommend using a sun minion here but something about your flatter colors and lighting in the foreground is helping your stand out. Nice neutral outfit adds to the story but isn’t too specific. Might not be planned but getting the dark red spread evenly throughout your body was a nice move that tied the hat and weapon both into the shot. Although you made it work with the red, thematically the bow looks a bit out of place in this shot because of the lightning and bright purple. Perhaps a plainer bow would make more sense. Your cute little extras are wonderfully positioned (I love their happy grins) and posed so that they feel menacing but don’t take too much attention away from you. Your own pose is good for the shot and your expression works fine. Nice dungeon shot!
Kitori Orihara –
What a dramatic pose! Your profile looks really good from what I can tell and the sword and shield frame it nicely. One of the biggest problems here is that those raptors are the stars of the show in this shot while you’re a small, barely visible figure who has almost become part of the background. You’re the model so you have to put those loonies in their place under you in importance. Not sure I like the almost perfect divide in the light on the shield; it’s coming across a bit sharp. Don’t know how you managed it with where the light is coming from but your face is well lit. Your pants give the unfortunate impression that you’re wearing chaps with nothing underneath. Having yourself center with the two raptors pointed inward would have worked to direct the attention to you in other circumstances but with how far away you are and your poor lighting it just makes your lack of visibility more obvious. Good angles on the cuties. The splash by the right one’s leg adds to the sense of action the same as yours; good job. Your background lacks truly interesting elements and the foreground is nice water, but it’s poorly lit which reduces the pretty factor. I don’t know if this dungeon choice held a lot of meaning for you but it isn’t really all that screenshot friendly in my opinion. The lighting is lackluster and the general setting is of junk piled up. The lighting on the raptors is very nice.
Annouille Andouillant –
This is just straight up beautiful. Although you didn’t create a scene to imply a specific story I can still see a story here because of the other elements in this shot. Excellent lighting both for you and your background. For you it highlights the important things and ties you into the setting by leaving your less important features in shadow. The lack of dead-on light on your face keeps it from looking too flat and the angles of your body do the same which helps you stay very 3-dimensional in a shot with you right in front of the camera and a close background. Your background looks amazing but only enhances your own beauty instead of overwhelming it through your use of lighting and the angle you have the stairs at. You keep the eyes moving around the shot with the downward and left flow of the stairs and the upward and right pull of your gaze. Your outfit was perfect for this shot, spot on. You look very rich and fancy, and with the setting/concept, somewhat dark. Great choice on accessories and those horns really pull the whole thing together and give the story credibility (thanks for not opting to use the succubus horns; these are much more subtle and enhancing instead of show stealing). Good decision to crop where you did instead of trying to get your whole body in the shot. Smart decision to forgo all obvious makeup; this way your whole look shines, plus it adds to your story. In a sea of muddled oil paint tones your sausage shines like a diamond.
Eldaena Vonxandria –
Great use of The Vault’s dramatic lighting! Your outfit fits the setting well theme-wise and also just looks excellent in that light. Your overall composition looks well thought out and I feel like I should love it more than I do. Your use of purple in your outfit sets you apart from you background without making you look out of place in a way that a totally warm color or very cool color wouldn’t have. Looking at your shot alone I don’t see a story even though you look like you fit in. Your pose is nice enough but I like from your shoulders down the best as your face is a bit overexposed. Your hair is still white I assume, but changed by the zone lighting? Nice accessory even though it isn’t too noticeable right away. This shot is okay with you centered but I wonder how it would look with you more off to the side? The straight on angle for the background might be leaving things a bit static; perhaps a dramatic shot looking up at you from down by your left foot. I already kind of said it but the lighting on that skirt area is divine.
Xev
