I find something beautiful when it is aesthetically pleasing, but also evokes positive emotions. Beauty is prevalent in natural landscapes because they are untouched by people, which makes it more impressive because it is unaltered. 

Magazine Cover

This photo is definitely more commercial. She's smiling and there is a neutral background. The colors are also softer and go together well, whereas the artistic photo had many bright colors. It's a much more simple photo, so it says less about her personality, but also makes for a nice magazine cover because it isn't distracting. 

Artistic Portrait

This photo is more artistic, because she isn't smiling, and there is also a more interesting background. She's also holding a camera, which gives the viewer some idea of her personality or how she likes to spend her time. 

Portraits

This is a photo of Mary on a beach in Seattle. I like this portrait because it's in an interesting environment, with the sand and rocks and water, and she's in an interesting pose. I raised the clarity slightly to emphasize the texture of the sand, and increased the highlights to emphasize how one side of her body is lighter, while the other part is in shadow. 

This is another photo of Mary on the beach. I really like the lighting in this photo. It's really soft and golden, because the sun was setting. I also like that she's looking down, because it goes with the calm background and lighting. 

This is a photo of Keegan in front of the black velvet. I like that he's slightly off center of the photo, and that I used portrait format to fill the frame. For editing, I enhanced the clarity and increased the blacks and added a vignette, which go well with his expression. 

This is a photo of Katie. I like how simple it is, with the red background and her calm expression. I used rule of thirds to make it more interesting, and did slight edits like decreasing the clarity and adding peach highlights.