Winter sun
by lambie83

Comment:
An interesting composition with good potential, but the B&W conversion will kill your score on this one. The whole shot is fairly gray, with no richness to the shadows and a mottled texture overall. Sorry! :-(

Liz
by dsa157

Comment:
Great model, lighting, tones and composition. Excellent job! A more compelling expression would have earned you that last point. 9

Jess
by eris_star

Comment:
Nice composition and model, but full sun will kill you on B&W. Try shooting under the shade of a tree or umbrella or wait for a cloudy day for much softer skin tones and controllable whites.

Rogue
by briandsd

Comment:
I suspect that you're probably not very happy with the score on this one, since most voters will be looking for a person in a portrait challenge. You CAN get away with a pet, but only with an exceptional expression and/or lighting. This, I'm afraid, has neither although the focus and composition are pretty good.

Imogen
by silver_avocado

Comment:
Great capture, but the processing didn't quite take advantage of its potential. It looks like you had the data available for sharp, contrasty eyes, but you've left them mostly gray and soft. If you have Photoshop available, try this again with the Luko sharpening technique (search the forums). Use Channel Mixer with mostly the green channel to convert to gray, and then dodge the eyes a little in Highlight mode. It should make a HUGE difference. ;-)

Heartbreaker
by rennie

Comment:
I'm not a big fan of super-high constrast B&W, but your model's great expression bails you out here somewhat. With better lighting, this could be a formidable photo.

Dina
by chrono_trigger

Comment:
Hmm... looks like you had a great model to work with, but the photo comes up short IMO in a few areas. Most of the values are pure black or white, with relatively few midtones, so it creates a harsh appearance on a model with a soft expression. The centered composition seems static and doesn't direct attention... most viewers will look at the face first and the follow the eyes immediately out of the photo. The graphics on the shirt don't help either. Imagine the same shot with a different shirt, softer lighting (like a big window on an overcast day), and cropped with more room off to the left. THAT would be a good score. As-is, it's about a 5 from me.

peace
by briantammy

Comment:
I'm not loving the centered composition, but VERY nice expression, tones and focus.

The Bedouin within
by HighNooner

Comment:
A very good photo that will likely get clobbered for the color. The expression, texture and sharpness are all good, and there's nothing wrong with little toning, but the strong brown hues shown here tend to overpower any sense of B&W. The midtones seem a little flat, and I would suggesting cropping the top considerably to get the eyes out of the center, but the shot itself is quite strong. Nice job!

I am, I said
by alfresco

Comment:
Nice backlighting and texture. I would suggest a softer foreground light off to one side to add shadow interest on the face, and dodging the irises to keep the eyes from looking completely black. Otherwise, good job. ;-)