The Artist's Wife, Plate 1

[draymorton]

In progress. Still working out details.

[GB1]

Very powerful portrait here Dray. I like the intenseness, composition for the most part, and eyes. It is unconventional in a good way I think.

I do however see some areas that can be improved in this image with a little PP. I think her skin is too soft/devoid of detail which causes loss of dimensionality. On the other hand I would smooth out the lips just a bit. The eyes are wonderful but I think they need to be a little bit sharper -- can you selectively sharpen them? I might also crop a tad off the bottom (don't ask me why, .. I just think it makes a stronger composition). Finally, someone said that if you have to err, err on the side of making a model too warm rather than cool. This is not a glamour shot where that rule necessarily applies but I do think her skin is a bit pale, so might want to eval that.

Hope this is helpful !

G

[draymorton]

GB - very helpful, as always. Many thanks for taking the time. Can do all of the above - or will try, anyway. I was originally wondering about cropping down a little, too.

The one thing you said that has me scratching my head has to do with the temperature. It looked pretty warm on my display, but then I just got a new computer, so things may well be off in that department (same with the brightness/darkness).

Thanks again!

[Lava Lamp]

Dude, it looks like you are in the doghouse.

Seriously, it's nice to see a portrait that isn't smiley sometimes. Thanks for sharing.

[draymorton]

Haha... doghouse? With whom?

[Lava Lamp]

Haha... doghouse? With whom?

The artist's wife looks a little angry to me. I think I recognize that look from my missus when I've been in the proverbial doghouse....

[draymorton]

The artist's wife looks a little angry to me. I think I recognize that look from my missus when I've been in the proverbial doghouse....

LOL oh, right. She's not my wife...

[Lava Lamp]

LOL oh, right. She's not my wife...

Having been flip before, I should comment on the photo. I like it. It shows technical mastery and thoughtful composition. The exposure is dead on and you kept the detail in the hair with enough light to separate it from the background. At the same time, you have deep shadow under the chin. I would guess that is from PS whether to strengthen the jaw and reinforce the stern look, to focus more strongly on the face, or to hide neck details, I can't tell.

Does your subject like it? So often, we're subtly encouraged to only like "happy" portraits.

[jetrim]

Dray, I'm very favorably impressed by this. Detail is wonderful - VERY good work on the eyes, skin, and lips. I've come back to this one half a dozen times and I like it more each visit. The *ONLY* nit picky thing I'd be temped to change is the single hair across her right cheek (closest to center of image). The tonality strikes me as a red-sepia if that makes sense, but quite pleasing in it's interaction with the rest of feel of the image. It's warm, but not a "happy" warm.

[draymorton]

Thanks, Lava and jet.

Lava, yeah... I definitely did some darkening under her chin. Haven't shown it to her yet; figured I'd run it by you guys first.

Jet - I didn't even notice that! But now, of course, it's all I see. Easy fix. And again, the bias may be weird, because this new display is weird. lol Hello calibration.

[BlueRob]

Nice portrait Dray, a very peculiar mood that I like no doubt.

Nit picks or possible improvements for my taste...
A wider crop to the right...just a whisker more...I like the offset of the face within the frame.
Dont know if its her skin or the pp work but the skin in the cheeks, nose bridge and central part of the forehead seems rather soft compared to other areas...great skin tone BTW...goes very well with the scene IMO. Great eyes, great light and mood. :thumbsup:

[daq7]

I really like the subtle texture of the eyes.

[Frog]

It is a photo that I will remember. To be able to show so much personality, character, attitude in a photograph is masterful.
I would never notice any of the things pointed out by the experts above but will say, I really like the skin tones for this particular picture as they match the mood.

[gahspidy]

Another good one, for sure.
I have not calibrated my monitor in a while and it tends to show things slightly warmer, and the skin tones here look on the pale side. Thats not to say its a bad thing, I feel it works with the overall feeling of the character and composition. So, for me the color and tones are fine.
Nitpik. . .I'm feeling like the eyes and mouth look a little over processed. They look brought out and overly sharp compared to the rest of the face. It stood out to me when I first viewed it, but when I spend time and go over the lips and eyes and look at each area of the face, it seems to all make sense and work.
I would be interested in the crop down as you mentioned, but think you have it right here.
Maybe a tad more illumination in her hair detail on the subject right, but not an issue.
Know that these are really minor things and observations that you might like know from anothers view, but that overall this is another very good piece.
I like what you have here.

[draymorton]

Thanks a lot for the feedback, all!

Gary and Rob - the time you spent critiquing is more than appreciated and I will try all of your suggestions for improvement. I can definitely play with the crop and reduce the sharpness in the areas mentioned.

[Greg McCary]

Dray I have looked at this a couple of times. You are way out of my league withthe lighting but I do like it. My only nit pik would be the speck of dust on her lips. You are a brave man for sure..LOL

[armando_m]

I have looked at the photo many times without knowing what to say , other than a flickr kind of comment like wow! excellent job!

The image is very strong and every time I see it I get dominated by thoughts about the subject, like:
is she angry? how was she convinced to get her photo taken? did she like the photo? has she seen the photo ? etc ...

I guess that is a sign the photo is incredibly good and communicates by itself

but sorry, I do not have technical critiques to offer

[Bretm1]

I'm another that keeps coming back. I have nothing to add to the comments from both the more experienced and less experienced folks. For me, as a novice, I often go back to many of these pics on critique just to see what people are saying, so I can learn and hone my photography and critiquing skills.

Definitely a powerful photo. I could see this being used for an ad of some type, like a medical add, with a bold statement of some type explaining the seriousness of the condition or the product. (I have all these captions running through my head)

[draymorton]

Thanks for the feedback, all. Quite appreciate your taking a moment to let me know what you think.

Extra shout-outs to Gary and Bret. Thanks again.