There's more manipulation than enhancement here IMO. The swan pair that are not perfect mirror images of each other is a nicely believable construction. However, I think the vaguely heart-shaped void in the brush could be manipulated into a stronger, more obvious heart shape than shown here. Cropping the image so the swans and heart come closer to the focal points suggested by the Rule of Thirds might be more dramatic. Then you could apply enhancements to the result to magnify its punch.

The "shadow" of the heart shape in the bush is too solid of black, and looks obviously painted, rather than natural. You would achieve a much better effect if you cloned in the shadowed foliage from the area to the right, with a bit of the area below the "heart," then making a selection and gently lowering the brightness of it, than trying to paint it.

Great idea. It is too bad that the original image wasn't better quality but the idea is lovely! I do agree that the shadow could be a bit more subtle though.

I actually didnt at all alter the shadow--just the shape of trees around it--so the darkness of the shadow is original

Good blend. Try to make the heavy canvas texture less obvious.

good blending author, very believable

Nice result, although the intense canvas texture is too hokey (as CMYK46 noted) and Orlando Bloom is unrecognizable, at least to me.

he has nothing to do with Orlando!

looks the same

IMHO, it's a subtle difference; in the first pic the girl is 9, and in the second, around 14, 15 (in my point of view)...

I... liiiike.... and she is definitely older

I agree with erikuri, there's a subtle but nicely done difference that just makes her old enough. Perhaps you could give her some more eyeliner and I'd recommend to make her nose (the bridge) somewhat larger (and with that perhaps also make the whole face a bit larger). Good luck!

agree with erikuri, very nicely done.

very good job.. I can't comment on the age difference.. (as a bouncer I'd card anyone that looked under 30 lol.. Love the little changes... the lips are amazing

Lovely work!

Good work author! Looks natural! Best of luck!

Great job author...U achieved natural look here and IMO this is the main goal in this contest...SBS is also well made..best of luck

amazing work author!

amazing work author!

This is great, looks so natural, well done.

Great work, very realistic.

Very nice work, author, very believeable.

Fits the "Cyberpunk" nomenclature perfectly to me, nice work!

NIce entry!
Maybe some attention-points? The dog looks a bit transparent, the orange chair is shining through and the back of the head (of the boy) is a bit to bright IMHO. For the rest: great entry, good thinking... in short:

Very Cute

Thanks Robvdn, I fixed the problems.

Looks better IMHO

Great concept, good execution, and you did it without using pre-posed, pre-lit, and pre-costumed pics from DA, so major kudos to you, author!

I will have to bow down here and totally agree with (CMYK46) about the DA stuff. This is in the true spirit of what photoshop is all about, not to mention the skill and artistic touch in bringing it all together. I really love this image, can I say love, sounds weird, but this is Totally Awesome, there that is better!

You guys are making me feel a bit weird-- in a good way . thanks.

Great concept and realisation! Good luck!

nice work

Love the aluminum cans in the background...nice thinking outside the box on this one!

this is simply amazing author! i love how interested in the computer the dog is lol,great lighing too

This kiddo could be just another weird character from the Tankgirl comics. Well done for sure! Good luck!

Fantastic work here, very well done and GL

Perfect work author...Very cleaver thinking and great mix of elements...This entry fits perfectly in the Cyberpunk spirit...well done

Stunning! This is the future, I'm afraid...

Very good integration of the sources. I love the beer cans that were also included.

Great job with this!

Congrats for your first place, Glockman!

Congratulations

Congratulations for 1st, cool pic

Congrats Glockman very clever

thanks all

Congrats!!

congrats!

congrats!

Well deserved win.