Our first competition of the season was judged by Becky Witt. She emphasized looking at the balance of the image. Make sure it is not blown out or too dark. Some images are too busy and the eye does not focus on the point of interest. Watch the edge, don't clip something off or add in an extraneous element. Not everything works in black & white. It's best to bring out the texture of an image. Avoid using it when there are too many gray tones and not enough clean black or white.