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01/23/2007 10:54:03 AM · #1 |
Hello,
I had this picture  for the portrait challenge and it only scored 5.23... I only got 1 comment. Could you guys please critique the picture so I can see where I went wrong?
I reworked the photo (not shown on the site) to soften the skin and stuff and I think it looks better but I want this one critiqued since it was my submission...
Thaks all!
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01/23/2007 11:53:44 AM · #2 |
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01/23/2007 12:20:17 PM · #3 |
Hi, I'm certainly no expert on portraits, but for what it's worth . .
I would have cropped the bottom of the picture upto the 'V' of her neckline (if that makes sense). This would make her face proportionately larger in the picture, and lose the heavy block of darkness. Besides it is her face that we are trying to see :-)
I think maybe a little reworking of the lights as well as her hair is brighter on the left of the picture than the right, and of course there is the shadow you refer to.
That said, you have an attractive model, and it's a good starting point in a difficult area. I'm sure with a little experimenting will start to get the results you want.
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01/23/2007 12:21:58 PM · #4 |
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01/23/2007 12:38:03 PM · #5 |
... 
Pose and expression are very nice. Composing such that your model's face is centered along the right vertical rule of thirds line works because she is looking inward and toward the left.
Overall it is too dark. The brightness of the background completely overwhelms your subject. The black feathered scarf has so little detail that it actually acts as a distraction that draws attention from your lovely model. The large crop includes to much superfluous detail.
Portraits are tricky because you want to maintain a full range of tones from solid white (255) to black (0) yet retain smooth tonal range.
My treatment isn't necessarily the best. I probably lightened it to much. You might also want to add a softness rather than sharpening to the image, either works well. The crop reduces the brightness of the background and featureless blackness of the scarf as distracting influences. It retains the framing of your original crop and includes everything that makes the picture nice in the first place.
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01/23/2007 01:05:24 PM · #6 |
Oh wow! Thanks people! Your comments sure help!
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01/23/2007 01:20:04 PM · #7 |
Interesting that most commenters are saying the image has too much contrast, probably thinking that because of the very bright background. Actually, the image is quite flat contrast-wise and doesn't even contain true black.
I increased the contrast in my treatment. The reason that works is because the bright background is aleady nearly solid white so it remains basically unchanged but a wider range of tones with better contrast is brought out in your model's face.
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