Wilting Tulip
by moniepenny

Comment by sherpet:
I love these simple type of images, (not overdone) and this one pleases me quite a lot..... It look like something I would like to do myself, as it has a paintely feel to it as well.....

Chuck
by moniepenny

Comment by sherpet:
I love the simplicity of the composition..... I also am a big fan of the mood in this image..... Great shot and it is a shame it missed the footwear challenge.....

portraitish.jpg
by moniepenny

Comment by Jutilda:
Really fun. I like the vivid pink. Reminds me of something art-elvi did during the 30 days of self portraits.

Really nicely captured. I like the half face and close up.

Look
by moniepenny

Comment by Jutilda:
Wonderful. Nice sideways glance. The use of negative space, with her looking that way, is perfect. Great image.

Look
by moniepenny

Comment by bfox2:
Heh I was going to bemoan the flying hair, but thats just me :) I actually don't think its really that bad and it adds to the mood of the photo. I also really like the pose/facial expression and the lighting is pretty good, but maybe just a little bit too harsh. The big blowout on the nose is most noticible but the necklace is also gone. A little bit more diffusion I think and this would be excellent. One other thing you might think about is lightening up the eyes just a little bit more either with other lighting techniques next time or in post-processing!

Look
by moniepenny

Comment by obsidian:
Nice shot! I like the overall flow to the composition and the "not perfect" feel to it all, although I am sure others on here would bemoan the flying hair here and there. For me, it makes it more natural, almost a candid-like shot. Amazing what you can do with two bits of card!

Turn the other cheek.
by moniepenny

Comment by jdannels:
Critique Club
I think the idea you had for this image was great and one that took some courage to put into a contest like this and considering the content of using a woman who is apparently battered and not leaving I think it is done very well and can see the thoguht and planning that into it.

Composition and lighting
I think both of these aspects are really well done the lightning and definetly sets the mood that you were looking for, scared but a single light showing how lonely the character might be. I think a slightly softer light may have helped the image. If you have no camera/photo lighting equipment like me some cheap and easy alternative is to get a large piece of white paper and place in front of the light source or getting a piece of foamcore and turning the light source around and bouncing the light off of that. Just some cheap and easy suggestions. The placement of the character is very well done as the right eye is placed well in the frame according to the rule of thirds. Maybe pointing you fingers on your face towards your would have drawn even more attention to it also.
Focus and Color
It appears to me that your hair is more in focus then your face in this picture which takes away from the impact of the photo, but I understand how difficult it can be to focus on yourself when working alone. Another tip/trick I use is to put something where my face would be and focus on that, then use either the focus lock on your camera or turn off the auto focus whatever function keeps the focus on your camera the same while you are moving around.
As for the makeup it does seem to get lost in the photo. I think really putting alot of dark make up right in the eye socket is what happens when I have gotten black eyes, and you may need to even overdo so it looks over the top in person but would show up well on camera.
I also think this shot would have been a great candidate for a black and white entry as this would have made the viewer have less color to distract them and force them to look at the model. Something like this. I just used the the channel mixer in photoshop and clicked the monochrome button in the bottom right corner.

I think overall this image is very well done and with a few minor adjustments this would have easily been a 6+ photo. I hope I didn't detract you at all. All thes ideas are merely suggestions and if you have any questions or comments for me please send me a PM and I'd be glad to discuss them with you.

Turn the other cheek.
by moniepenny

Comment by GolferDDS:
An emotional and thought provoking picture. Well done.

Sunshiny
by moniepenny

Comment by kari1:
::: Critique Club :::

Hi, my name is Kari and from the critique club.

First Impression - the most important one:
Such natural colours ... a beautiful portrait.

Composition:
I like this for a portrait ... I would mke mention that the nose looks a little centred in the shot ... making this emphasis a little ... the wyws are almost on thirds .. slight higher crop may have achieved this and removed the emphasis from the nose.

Subject:
meets the challenege and I think is a well formed portrait.

Technical (Colour and light):
As with the other commentors I like that is not too processed and she looks totally human ... its a great change .. although being so young she looks really fresh as well.

To grow its vote?:
take a look at more of librodos shots ... he often uses the forehead to help with the framing as well ... the flowers slightly lower so that her chin is in the chot even with a shallow DOF may have helped complete the fact .. I don't know ... just some thoughts.

Summary:
Good solid shot ... and really deserving of being on the front of your profile.

If you've got any questions about this critique, please feel free to contact me via the PM system.

Cheers

Kari

Turn the other cheek.
by moniepenny

Comment by RolandB:
This is a great portrait. Love the lighting.