Taking a Weekly Photo Challenge

My goal for 2012 is 52 weeks of photos.  I've always hesitated about posting my photos.  I've always assumed that the only people interested in my images are my family or friends.  I take photos for our kids sports teams and the parents love getting the great photos of the kiddos in action.  My pictures are better than average, but not as good as my semi-pro friend,Katrina. So this year, I'm committing to one photo a week.  One photo that I like more than the rest.  One photo that I'm willing to share.  No rules about following a theme, but if it works out, I'll try to submit it somewhere...

The first week is an image from Christmas morning. My daughter's hair was in curlers overnight. In the morning, she had a head full of beautiful, thick curls.

I took many photos of my two girls that morning.  This one stood out for a few reasons.  First, the sparkle in her eye and smile.  She just knows that she looks fantastic.  And she has that happy Christmas glow - nothing could be better.  Second, I like the black and white stripes in the background.  Those stripes come from my SIL's shirt.  Since she put the girls hair up, I like the reminder of her presence.

I've struggled with composition and technical questions, so I'm going to try to include some analysis with each photo.  If nothing else, I'll think about it myself.  I invite your comments and suggestions so that I can keep learning. 

Good: 

 - Background lines align with the eyes. 

 - Curls bring vision back toward the face.

Could be better

 - Polka Dots are a bit distracting

 - Cropping seems a bit uneven - cropped the forehead, but not the chin

 - May still be a bit too centered