1) I would clone out the birds at the very top - too small for impact
2) The WB of the images is all over the place - distracting
3) The reduced opacity of the images is creating "lines" thru heads - weird
4) Large floating head in middle, is the baby drowning - in poor taste, artistically IMO
5) The feathering of the pictures is too aggresive - parts of heads, etc are too feathered. Try "extracting" them (like with the program "Knockout") to avoid this - looks amateurish.
6) Pix don't look sharp or "pop" at all.
7) What is with the "extra arm(?)" in the image at bottom right?
Sorry to sound harsh, this has good potential with the above changes.
ditto, also make sure the photos are the same size in relation to each other. right now it looks like the biggest is upper left, then below, then upper right, then lower right. The photo on the lower right extends all the way to the bottom of the frame so make the lower left the same or vice versa. I don't mind the baby head floating, but try to sharpen the eyes, that'll at least give the impression of a sharp photo.
Is it a gift for your wife? You might add the child's name or age. I agree with some of the other comments regarding the feathering and transparency but I am a graphic designer by trade so things like that always stand out to me. This is the kind of gift that, due to the subject matter, the recipient will certainly love it despite any comments from this thread.
Richard, I like the last version (#2) the best, but it would still be good if you can address the issue of the soft edges around the cut outs. (If you aren't familiar with the "Extract" tool/function, you might want to check it out in the ps help.) Also, there seems to be empty space on the left (and to a lesser extent the bottom) that you might consider cropping out. The new arrangement of the corner shots strikes me in a more pleasing way. Best wishes, -Art
