Michelle

[GB1]

Shot to-DAY. C&Cs welcome.

G

[ksbryan0]

GB, I am wanting to like this shot, but the more I look at it, the less I like it. I think the uneven lighting is the big culprit, especially since her face is not lit at all (except the chin). Seem like I am looking though a dark tunnel of hair to see her face. Her expression is neither playful, nor seductive, but instead is telling me that the rock she's sitting on is hurting her (okay, maybe I am reading to much into her expression). Her left calf has a yellow tinge, and that doesn't match her right leg, but I think the lighting is doing that. Then I am seeing a dark line that runs along the underside of her leg from heal to thigh, and picks up again behind her skirt and runs along the rock wall she is against. Finally, I think there needs to be more light behind her shoulder. The model is pretty enough and the composition is good, but I think the scene needs some lighting changes and she needs more expressive body language.

[Didache]

I think ksbryan0 pretty well nails it. Outdoor shoots are always at the mercy of lighting conditions and, to a large extent, that is understood. However, to me, the real problem is the lack of light on the face.

Cheers
Mike

[Grandpaw]

The only thing I would add is I think it would be better with the top of the picture cropped off down to about half way to the top of her head, Jeff

[armando_m]

Looks like a great location and glad to see her again

The first thing I see is her expression , it doesn't help

At closer inspection I'll say ditto on the comments from ksbryan and jeff
Seems you used some fill in flash but was not enough vs the main light .. was it the sun ?
Any idea about the origin of the dark outline ?

[Anbesol]

I thought the exact same thing about the light on her face. A small reflector could have fixed this issue. Also, the girl obviously has a very good figure, but the angle doesn't flatter her much in that regard, in particular, the white dress pops up towards the top of her butt. I'm sure her tush has a good shape but the dress seems to contradict the notion. Her back is a little too relaxed I think, she could stand to arch it some, that said, the 'imperfections' (so to speak) of her posture and the very relaxed expression give it a very honest look too, which is a redeeming quality of it. Those are nitpicks though as in all in all I think its a great shot.

[LeeIs]

very busy for me. also that black triangle (shade) is really drawing my attention. for her, the small pouch on her belly isn't very appealing. did she see that? and you're still alive. lol

[GB1]

Fellows,

Hmm, interesting comments. I actually thought you were looking at a different photo (??) Will address the critiques below, but I was waiting to get home because the black streak/triangle/whatever on her right leg was completely invisible on my work computer; I do see it here, but it's so small... you guys must be eating a lot of carrots

Ken, the lighting is actually why I like this particular one, but I can see where it may cross the line and become just too much. I think as Mike states, if her face were illuminated (not in shadow) it may be a different story. yeah I think you are reading too much into that, she was actually smiling and laughing so much I had to ask her to "look serious" (Couldn't think of a better word - guess I'm a visual sort of guy, not a verbal one). But I do think that the expression can be received in a puzzling way. I think that line (which is freakin' pretty small dude!!) was caused by me shooting with the flash on the right on a few shots rather than the left .. I caught myself doing that a few times. To me, here and esp on my work computer, it's barely noticeable, a little worse on her heel, but I think it's easily correctable. I will have to completely disagree on the body language though - this was meant to be a relaxing summer scene near the water, as her outfit depicts a Southern Belle. What body language do you think might be better? I really don't know.

Btw, thanks for the detailed comment - they're contagious in general, and that's a good thing.

Mike, I did notice the lack of light on her face. I have numerous shots of her here and will look for one that shows her face in full lighting. I actually didn't think it was a problem, that it was different and a bit mysterious (?), but maybe that's the outdoor photographer in me doing the thinking.

Jeff, do you agree with the rest then? Yeah there was numerous cropping ops here .. I played with it, and decided that they where all pretty much equal as long as she wasn't too small in the frame. btw, typically if you leave a lot of space at the top it can make the model look short, where too little and it makes her look cramped. With Michelle, her bone structure and overall build seems to define so the composition isn't so important (hmm).

Armando, that dark outline was apparently caused by the camera flash on the right side. This can and often does happen if you turn the camera sideways w/ flash when shooting people if they're near any background object. I believe there's a device that can twist your flash upright in such situations, but it seems a little bulky and I have never seen one for sale (prob have to order online). The main light was indeed the sun ... near desert conditions in San Diego yesterday, hence why we shot at sunset.

Charlie,-- arggg! -- it is the style of the dress. So the dress doesn't work on the model? I don't see that myself, it's just a different style of shot. Her back looks too relaxed? wow, you guys are blowing my mind - are you physical therapists? :lol: But like you said, these are small things/nitpicks, and generally, I feel that means it's a pretty good shot. The facial expression doesn't appear too popular though.

btw - this is the same gal who had a baby 6 weeks ago. She's done pretty well getting into shape.

Liban - See my other comments on the black line (triangle). It really doesn't bad on my two monitors, I guess there's other views of it on other screens. Pouch on her belly?!? Huh? (see my comment at the top where I thought you guys were critiquing the wrong photo ..) That's the style of the dress She hasn't seen it but I wouldn't have any qualms about showing it to her, she seems to like my pix (but maybe she's still groggy from the pregnancy?)

G

[AgingEyes]

Her shadowed face is my biggest concern. Then - you can blame Liban on this as I didn't notice that at first - it's that dark hole in the lower right.

Oh, her facial expression could be better. May be lower her chin a bit more, too.

[chaucolai]

As a casual user, I have to say that the uneven legs is really bugging me. I'm not an expert on much, so I won't pretend to be, but the yellowy-orange left (from her perspective) leg and the more normal-coloured one is irritating.

[nitin]

well I am a newbie to photography, but i am agree with ksbryan0. There shuld br some light on her face also expressions.

[GB1]

Thanks AE. That dark hole is water. There's a significant amt of contrast here that I could have reduced, but I liked it's 'pop.' I definitely knew about the shade on her face, but sometimes that's the price you pay for dramatic lighting.

Chaucolai, if by uneven legs you mean the color difference, wow you guys are pick-y. But maybe that's a good thing: takes a sharp eye to do critique. I don't remember if I even noticed the different colored legs btw.

Thanks for commenting nitin.

G

[ksbryan0]

What body language do you think might be better?

Well, it is a hot day, she's looking at you, and she already has one strap of her dress off...so maybe an expression and posture that says "wanna go for a dip?"

[Grandpaw]

Let me start off by saying that I do not do this type of photography so my opinion may be way off base. As it is it looks to me like the stone wall has too much importance in this photo, like it is a picture of a stone wall with a model setting in front of it instead of a picture of a model with a stone wall in the background. That statement probably doesn't make sense to anyone but me but maybe you will get what I am trying to say. All the other aspects have been cover by everyone else with more experience. By cropping off half of the space above her head it just makes my eye go to the model first instead of the wall, Jeff

[GB1]

Let me start off by saying that I do not do this type of photography so my opinion may be way off base. As it is it looks to me like the stone wall has too much importance in this photo, like it is a picture of a stone wall with a model setting in front of it instead of a picture of a model with a stone wall in the background. That statement probably doesn't make sense to anyone but me but maybe you will get what I am trying to say. All the other aspects have been cover by everyone else with more experience. By cropping off half of the space above her head it just makes my eye go to the model first instead of the wall, Jeff

Jeff, I think you mean that the background is too distracting for the model? Yeah, maybe .. it's close in my opinion. I personally like the background for it's rustic-ness (my spell checker doesn't like that word ..) but I probably could have used a wider aperture to blur it a bit more; I believe the EXIF says f 9.5 or something, as the lighting was so intense it was hard to get a SS-aperture combo with flash that worked. The flash synch speed is 1/320 max, leaving you only the aperture or ISO to reduce light. I'll play some more w/ the crop.

G

[GB1]

Well, it is a hot day, she's looking at you, and she already has one strap of her dress off...so maybe an expression and posture that says "wanna go for a dip?"

Ken - This shot was going for that dreamy-eyed, summer day look. Artistic differences, I think

G

[Grandpaw]

This is the crop I was talking about. You may not care for it but I thought I would show you anyway. I also adjusted the shadows and highlights a little bit. The first one is the original and the second one is the edit, Jeff

This is only to show you what I was thinking and not meant as a final edit.

[GB1]

Thanks Jeff, I do see the exposure difference. The more I look at this image, the more I see its flaws. I have always liked unusual highs-and-lows lighting, as I'm mostly a landscape photographer, and this seems to create a dynamic photo. But when it cuts across a model, it's just a lot harder to make work.

The crop is good btw. The original image has a lot more negative space and I did crop it to what you see, but there's always the question 'how much?' No scientific answer I think.

[ruosis]

PS a litter,it will be better

[Azamakix]

I found dresses for the mother of the bride in large sizes here https://www.thedressoutlet.com/colle...-bride-dresses , we have a wedding soon and we need a dress for her mother, I already ordered tomorrow, I will come and share impressions, thank you very much to this store, the size can be selected as for thin ones and for larger sizes