Amy at the car show [pic attached]

[McMadCow]

I went to the "Cherry's Jubilee" car show in Salinas with Amy last weekend. Amy is an aspiring pinup model, so I had little choice but to travel 100 miles down the peninsula for the promise of a lotful of hotrods.
This shot was one of a handful I took using some funny filtering trickery, hence the dark sky and high contrast. It was actually quite sunny, not a cloud in the sky.
Shot on Plus-X, 50mm, I forget my camera settings.
Critique is appreciated!

[mtbbrian]

Off all of the "lovely" photographs you have done, this one doesn't quiet make it.
It's way too dark, and her dress kind of blends into the car in some parts.
If I understand you correctly on what you were going for here, it sounds like it would have been best to do this at night with some lights.
Make sense?
Brian

[Alison]

I was going to say, alot of the details are lost.

[Seb]

I went to the "Cherry's Jubilee" car show in Salinas with Amy last weekend. Amy is an aspiring pinup model, so I had little choice but to travel 100 miles down the peninsula for the promise of a lotful of hotrods.
This shot was one of a handful I took using some funny filtering trickery, hence the dark sky and high contrast. It was actually quite sunny, not a cloud in the sky.
Shot on Plus-X, 50mm, I forget my camera settings.
Critique is appreciated!

That's very contrasty for sure. It's almost violent lol. Nice comp, there is a cinematic feel to it. I truly love the lighting on your model face and upper body and the glow inside the car hood is neat. I am less comfortable with the center of the picture where her dress and the car blend.

I like the high contrast but I would try to dodge a little the center of the image.

Seb

[GB1]

McMadCow - It was an experiment worth taking, but it's way too dark and contrasty. However, I think the technique is good. If you could have posed her against a white car (of all things: but the contrast might have been interesting) and if she was wearing a lighter outfit.. Maybe it would work?

Some photographer at a wedding once told me that he wears black to keep a low profile. I think that is a problem here - she should stand out but the black isn't doing it. Next time, tell her to wear something lighter and, hoping not to sound chauvinistic, but something more sexy. That's what car models do, right ? Her outfit seems to be on a 'leave me alone' side.

Anyway -- I like the angle you shot her at...

GB

Edit - here's a crop that I think is different.
gb

[Seb]

Quite frankly, this picture is growing on me. It had instant visual impact at the first place but I enjoy it even more few hours later. Her pose, the lighting and your framing are beautiful. Contrarily to GB's, I'd say stick to these kind of clothes because I feel that they suit her very well and I think that using more provocative clothes would result into something too predictable, kind of a "cliché". Simply but, switch from this black dress to a medium grey one (all else being equal) and I believe that the result would be striking.

Seb

[starriderrick]

I think GB12 has something here.This is a camaro SS RS.
I think if she was wearing a plaid red/white shirt,daisy dukes this would kick,Also I think Seb's point is spot on It does grow on you.Yet,I feel that if it had just a tiny bit of colorization her smile, legs would come forward.Very thought provolking capture.
Were there any Mercury Cyclones at the car show? I missed it, but I went last year it's worth the 130 mile drive

[livin4lax09]

I like it, I just don't think it lends itself well to the grain. It's a smooth shot, so I'd like to see it with smooth blacks. did you bounce some light back up onto her face? what I would like to see would be the same thing done with the arms and legs. I love shots where the skin is seperated from the clothing in terms of exposure. But very tricky, I know.

[McMadCow]

Thanks for all the responses. I can see why this is a mixed bag with critiques. It was mixed for me, too. This is definitely a technique that I've not yet perfected, but it's been getting closer. I agree with Seb that a change to a more middle-toned outfit might have made a difference here. I would absolutely love to try out this technique with a nude model in the desert. But alas, no nude model and no desert.
GB1, that's an interesting crop. Thanks for coming up with that one. Although I saw this shot in the larger sense that I posted here, your take clears up a lot of the issues with her outfit and the shadow of the car. I'll have to take a wider variety of shots the next time I try this.
Starrider, I have no idea if there any Cyclone's at the show. There were obviously a ton of American hotrods but I'm not so into that scene that I can point out which is which. There was a Pantera or two there, however, and those really got my attention! Also, someone showed up with a 427 Cobra that my model was so good to drape herself over.
Brent, the grain is actually the result of needing to bump the exposure a bit in my neg scanner. This was shot on Plus-X, so I'm assuming the grain won't be nearly as pronounced when I go to print it. The same thing happened the last time I did this, and the darkroom print looked fine (aside from being dark and contrasty, of course).
Thanks to all who commented!

[natatbeach]

That's very contrasty for sure. It's almost violent lol. Nice comp, there is a cinematic feel to it. I truly love the lighting on your model face and upper body and the glow inside the car hood is neat. I am less comfortable with the center of the picture where her dress and the car blend.

I like the high contrast but I would try to dodge a little the center of the image.

Seb

HEY! he took the words right out of my mouth--- ya what he said

[Greg McCary]

I like what you have done and the concept is neat , but the two things that bother my is the background is to busy and the hood spring sticking just above her head. Both could be fixed in PS. But I do like where you are going with the feel of the picture.
Greg

[CyberF828]

I guess I can never critique a photo cause I don't believe there are anybad photos. I believe photos are our memories that we get to keep to view on another day I have tons that don't make sense to anybody but me.( I guess I might be a little off topic huh? ) I like the photo.

[KyRain]

What works for me about this is the way the model is posed against the car. At first I thought there was too much black but I really like the way her legs and feet are shown in
the darkness..her pose is subtle sexy which is always a good thing. I don't think the angle of her face though is as complimentary as it could be. Her face is too shadowy in parts.
Really neat work, though. I like the mood you are portraying.