The Elusive Smile
by Blue Moon

Comment:
Light enlarges, dark diminishes....

The bright white tummy makes her look fat. You could burn it down ... or crop it (perhaps up to the bottom of the jacket).

Edit to add: I do love her smile here. I like the way she smiles even with her eyes.

Message edited by author 2007-11-16 20:45:10.

Sleeping Beauty-Expert Editing
by Blue Moon

Comment:
I'd suggest cropping higher. Her skin down along the bottom looks funny to me.

Lttle Angel 2
by Jedusi

Comment:
Beautiful portrait!

Ashley
by njsabs

Comment:
Awesome portrait! Beautifully lit, beautifully processed.

Cliff
by lovethelight

Comment:
Perfect execution! There's nothing more to say. The lighting is perfect. The crop, the B&W treatment, his pose and natural smile. All well done.

Sandy Grant2 221a.jpg
by lentil

Comment:
I like this. This kind of image (where the couple are looking at each other) are so much more engaging than images where the couple are looking at the camera.

Sandy Grant2 218a.jpg
by lentil

Comment:
Fun! :-)

Sandy Grant 1 037a.jpg
by lentil

Comment:
Pretty girl. Love the shallow DOF on her. It would have been nice to get one more just like this without the hand behind her.

Sandy Grant2 259.jpg
by lentil

Comment:
Great idea for posing. I love images like this where everyone is looking at the B&G. The fact that others, in the image, are doing so, adds interest and forces you to look as well (sort of a "people'd negative space").

Drought
by SDW

Comment:
Having just come home from a 3-day photographer's convention, I'll pass along one of the tips expressed by several of the speakers. They said:

Every image should have a foreground, a middle ground, and a background.

That said ... I would consider this image mostly background, with no fore nor middle. And that explains why the image doesn't really "stand out". As you look at it, there is nothing in the image to "draw you in", to make you "want" to look at it. There is no specific subject ... the entire image *is* the subject.

Now, from a documentary point of view, the image is great. And perhaps that lends it somewhat to the photojournalism side of things. But had this image been submitted to the challenge, I'm sure the voters would have been lackluster in their voting specifically because of that lack of "wow factor".

Hope this helps.