I generally like this image, and feel there's a bit of the umph factor that makes one photograph stand out from others.
The quick take: I agree that the eyes hijacked the composition. The extremely light tones in most of the image robs it of details, and one particular instance where this is less effective is the separation line between the jawline and the neck, which is very slight and creates an unnatural impression, and I believe a stronger jawline would have yielded a more positive overall viewing result.
The long take:
a) As mentioned by several of the commenters already, my eyes were immediately drawn to the model's eyes and then the earring. There's quite a competition between these two elements in the image, and I agree that the earring did not win the battle, perhaps due to its positioning in the composition or its smaller size. The eyes' luminosity and darker tones are also quite magnetic, and their contrasting tone as compared against the background and the rest of the image also serve to highlight them, at the expense of the earring.
b) I'm struck by the marble-like quality of the face. It's a good effect that can powerfully communicate a message. But in the context of this image, there is perhaps too much dodging.
c) Were the earring a darker color tone, perhaps closer to that exhibited by the eyes, I believe this image would have rated very highly. The silver gets lost amidst all the whites. The darker part of the earring right underneath the ear lobe is very effective, and I wish that same tone continued down to the main part of the earring.
d) The cheek line on the model's left side as well as the area around the left eye are showing a bit of a burn, and I like this juxtaposition against the very light right side very much. And I can't help but feel that were the rest of the image more uniformly dark, the earring would have benefited.
e) Two distraction points. The first consists of the clothing strap and the hint of a thin necklace around the neck. Were these elements removed, I believe the image would be stronger. The second, and this is previously mentioned in Azrifel's comment, is the hand behind the head, which threw the composition. There also seems to be a very light strand of hair crossing the palm of that hand, and this also provided another element that competed with the earring within its immediate vicinity.
Overall, I do think this is a nice image still, and one that has lots of potential. During the vote, this was one of the small percentage of images to which I gave a 6 or higher in the entier challenge.
I hope this comment is useful. This is my first critique club assignment, and I'd welcome very much some sort of feedback on this comment, if you can spare the time and energy. Thanks, and good luck in future challenges.
A lovely portrait but the erarring did not receive enough attention. It is there where the eyes will end up and I keep going back to the eyes which received the top billing. Bumping up.
Nice portrait but IMHO I feel that the earing gets lost because of the power of the eyes. Maybe leaving the earing in colour would have distracted back away fom the eyes.
Strange pose, it makes it look like she has got something really heavy hanging on her ear. The high key lighting also makes it hard to find a good expression on the left side of her face, nearest to the jewel. The hand behind her head doesn't look like a hand at first but creates a strange shoulder line. Only the piece of clothing at the bottom tells me different (but at that moment I was already distracted).
I like the eyes - they are jewels-, the tone and the idea of the lighting. It's just the pose that keeps me from rating it top.
The first thing to jump out at me in this photo is the models eyes. If this was a portraint that would be good. The earring in this is not a focal point. JMO. She's very pretty - how did it look in color? Good luck in the challenge.
Focal point seems to be more drawn to her eyes, than the earring (which looks a bit over-sharpened in my opinion)
I like the direction/idea you went with this to soften the overall look.
this is a beautiful idea for an ad and a beautiful shot....the only thing that doesnt sit roght with me is the lack of detail available on the earring which is the product trying to be sold...best of luck
Very nice and sharp eyes. The idea of the eyes and earing to be the only 'sharp' parts of the picture very interesting, unfortunatly i do not feel it works very well, as most of the subject of the picture isn't the jewel. A tighter crop of perharps only one side of the face and the earing could've worked as much. Frame is nice and classic, which makes the picture work more. 5
Composition: I see the focus on the models eyes not on the jewelry
Lighting: lightign is ok, its too harsh on the earring IMHO
Color: verynice
Clarity: not clear enough on the jewelry
Lettering: I cannot see where any lettering could be placed on this for advertising purposes.
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