Delicate & Lovely
by
librodoComment by Bear_Music: *** C R I T I Q U E C L U B C O M M E N T ****
It seems almost superfluous to be critiquing this wildly popular image, since it's already received so many thoughtful responses, but I'll take a stab at it.
Composition: essentially flawless. The use of negative space, the
shape of the negative space, is exceptionally fluid. One might wish for a little more forehead and a little more on the bottom to better-complete the arc of the scarf.
Lighting: appears to be classic window-light. It's one of the most recognizable elements in your images. It's actually a fairly "harsh" light for portraiture, but you always manage to pull it off by careful control of the dark values in the face. I might like to see a hair more detail in the upper left portion of the face, above her right eye, but that's a subtle call. The shadow of the scarf on her chin is mildly distracting; had her raised hand been placed an inch further back, the scarf might not have cast that shadow that interrupts the flow of the line along the chin, but again this is a nit.
Color: I basically have no criticisms of the color except that I am seeing a slight cyan/green cast to the whites of her eyes and wonder if you might neutralize this?
Other: IMO, and I see by the comments that I'm not alone in this opinion, this shot shows overuse of neat image. I understand the smooth, graceful, flowing effect you are after here, but I think you can ramp down a bit on the neat image and still have that effect. Indeed, this is my only real criticism of the image; I believe the skin, especially on the hand, is overly plastic-looking.
Wonderful shot, Manny. The bottom line is that this person really comes through as "delicate and lovely", which after all is what you set out to accomplish.
Robt.
Photographer found comment helpful.