Teen Attitudeby
TlemetryComment by PaulE: Greetings from the Critique Club.
Hi Theresa,
An interesting one to draw. You have already recieved a number of fantastic comments; both useful and complimentary. I will do my best to add to what they have already said.
I like what you have done - or more precisely, I like what you have tried to do. The curve of shadow on your son's left side is superb and very dramatic. Unfortunately the right side of the face tells the story of how you achieved it. The highlights on the neck and hair as distracting. This together with the strong shadows on the forehead indicate that you used a small(or un-difused) light source which created the harder look. Please let me know if I am wrong. Anyway, I think a softer light-source (bigger from closer, or difused) would have smoothed this out.
I can't tell if the slight softness of the subject is intentional, or subject movement, or camera movement. I notice that your shutter-speed was 1/8, which is fairly long; so I am guess it was subject movement. On the subject of focus. They say eyes are the window to the soul. This is definitely the case in B&W portraits. There are exceptions, but generally the eyes should be looking at the camera and in sharp focus to really engage the viewer.
I really like your 'Spots' entry, btw.
It is my hope that these insights are helpful and constructive. Please feel free to PM me if you have any questions regarding this critique. And please remember to mark it "Helpful" if you found it so. Good luck with future challenges.
Cheers
Paul
Message edited by author 2007-01-23 00:42:33. 
Photographer found comment helpful.
