Portrait of Girl

[ChowChi-Ching]

Would like to know what everyones thoughts are on this picture??

[rylan]

i find the face of the subject is not very sharp? i would try some sharpening in photo shop
other then that its great

[Alison]

The softness doesn't bother me.

It's a bit too grey though.

I think the background is too much like your subject therefore making the hair my point of interest KWIM?
This is because the human eye naturally goes to, either the lightest part of an image, or the darkest part of an image. The darkest being her hair.

I think a darker or black background may have been better making her the main point of interest. However, if you used black, her hair would be almost the same colour as the bg so don't forget to use something for a hairlight. This can be something as simple as a reflector, window or desk lamp.
(If you use a desklamp you can diffuse the light by taping a piece of baking or parchment paper to the lamp. I say baking or parchment baking because this kind of paper is designed to take heat).

The composition is pretty good, although, I think I would like to see a little more cropped from the right of the frame.
If you don't mind us editing your images I can show you.

This post might be of help to you too Concepts for lighting and digital photography

[ChowChi-Ching]

Feel Free to edit my images if you would like..... The background was actually a green screen, but she said she just wanted it left like that.......it was a present for her boyfriend but he said he didn't like it(said she looked swollen and like she just woke up, he said the whole picture just looked bad......hehe, we don't get along that well) So, she wanted to see what others though of the pic..... But if you all have ideas to make it better.... PLEASE DO SO!! I learn so much from people playing with my pics and showing me(vs telling me) how to make it better.....

[readingr]

For me there is to much softness in the image. I would prefer (like the boyfriend) a more traditional portrait. I agree with Alison on the grey and a different background would make her stand out better.

Roger

[Alison]

Can you post a colour one for us please with no softening?

Here's the composition I was talking about...

[Frog]

The softness seems obviously the effect you were going for as the eyes are sharp so I have no complaint about that. I do think it needs more tones...some darker ones especially. Maybe if she'd worn something different.

[ChowChi-Ching]

Let me see if I can find the original.....

[GB1]

Just some observations:

I think it's a nice shot, but might be a bit tight on the top and bottom. It especially looks so because of all the space on the right. The softness in the face looks intentional, and I find it OK (I haven't read any of the comments yet, so don't know if you've mentioned this). Nice eye contact, smile, etc. The background is a bit close in density to her attire. A lot of 'middle' tones of grey, but not much extremes (my black and whites always have the opposite look - a lot of contrast).

[ChowChi-Ching]

Thanks.... it might be a bit before I can find the original - my hard drive crashed and we had to spend $1300 to have all of our data recovered(OUCH!) - But now I have 11 DVDs to search through to find my stuff.....

The softening was intentional but it was also done almost a year ago and I have learned alot since then....

[jkriminger]

I like Alisons crop and think you should go from there. From the swollen comments I would look to play with the under eye shadows and the chin line...not sure if this would help but hey..its free! Find the original.

[freedom1500]

Seeing as you have requested some suggestions and re-worked examples, here's my two-cents worth. I think this is a very nice portrait. I like the low-contrast... it provides a lot of image detail and a softness that also works well with the young woman's flawless skin. You might have overdone it a bit with the Glow filter in Photoshop (if that's not what you did, it sure looks like it). So, here are my suggestions:
Alison's crop is certainly better, but I went a step further and cropped even tighter to convert the shot from horizontal to vertical. I thought the original showed too much body and too much background, which in itself became a distraction. I also added a bit of contrast (in Levels) and some vignetting in the corners. My objective was to make the girl's face and eyes stand out. Hope this helps.

[ChowChi-Ching]

I like that alot! I actually used the softener in Paint Shop Pro when I did this picture(hadn't bought Photoshop yet)

I am trying to find the original.......thinking it may still be on one of my camera disks(oops!)

[jkriminger]

yes, freedoms now in the lead.

[jgredline]

I was simply reading along as I too would love to learn proper portrait technique, but freedoms edit looks great. The original was so soft, it looks blurry to my getting old eyes.

[Len J]

I like allison's crop.

the "softness" is overdone to my eye & instead of noticing something specific about the girl, I notice the "softening". The effect...not the object.

Len