Portraits of Emily

[Arctirus]

I'm building a website for my newly created photo business and am doing some TFCD shoots with some models from onemodelplace.com to get some new material for the site. Here's Emily, my first model:







More can be found on my personal website: http://ww2.photogeeks.net:8080/index...ily&lang=en_us

Please provide constructive criticism, I'm not posting here to show off; I need to know how I can improve.

EDIT: Yeah, I know I should have combed her hair in the top shot. I didn't notice until after seeing the images on my PC.

[McMadCow]

Arc, I've seen a lot of unoriginal, uninspiring shots on the critique forums. I've waited a long time for the day when I would see something that would reinstill a desire to go out and create new and powerful art. Well Arc, that day is not today.

All seriousness aside, I really do like the way you captured the unique look of this particular model, and I like that you avoided your tendency to favor overexposed shot. Although I really like the colors and composition of the top shot, it seems as though it's not composed QUITE as completely as you want a fashion shot to be. The bottom shot, however, is very successful IMO. Looks like you could benefit to bump up the contrast a bit, though. I don't usually like the way digital cams flatten out in B&W. Oh well, that's what Photoshop is for. Good shooting.

[ckozo]

commenting on the first photo....
i'm a big fan of strange cropping, but for a crop to work i suggest that it look planned or natural but should never appear to be an accident/mistake. IMHO, the crop of the models head right at the eye level appears to me to be a mistake (even if it wasn't). i would experiment with cropping above the eyes.

on the second....
nice use of positive and negative space, nice composition. i like it.

on the third.....
lighting appear flat and some detail is lost in the under-exposed areas

hope this helps.

cheers!

OT: where in pennsylvania are you based? i'm in pittsburgh.

[Arctirus]

@McMadCow: Yeah, I did have a little faze where I liked to severely over expose but I got tired of that. I did try increasing the contrast on a few of the B&Ws but in every shot it destroyed all detail in her hair.

[Arctirus]

commenting on the first photo....
i'm a big fan of strange cropping, but for a crop to work i suggest that it look planned or natural but should never appear to be an accident/mistake. IMHO, the crop of the models head right at the eye level appears to me to be a mistake (even if it wasn't). i would experiment with cropping above the eyes.

on the second....
nice use of positive and negative space, nice composition. i like it.

on the third.....
lighting appear flat and some detail is lost in the under-exposed areas

hope this helps.

cheers!

OT: where in pennsylvania are you based? i'm in pittsburgh.

Thanks, I think when I was shooting the top show I was going for keeping the eyes out of the frame entirely but I think the 20D may give me a little more of an image than I actually see in the viewfinder. When I looked at the images on my PC I liked seeing the eye so I left it in.

Far far from you, I'm about an hour north of Philly.

[JK_Photo]

I like all of them but i'm partial to the middle one. Love the pose and the lighting works well.
The BW needs more contrast, but you know that now. i'd have brushed her hair back over her shoulder where it's hanging into her armpit. Would've made for a cleaner look. I like her placement in the frame.
I don't mind the top won. It would work well with her eyes out all the way. Scroll down so the browser edge just cuts out the eyes and you'll see. Her mouth is the main focus in this shot IMO.
Good start Arctirus.

[Arctirus]

I just did a quick edit of the top photo to crop and attempt to remove the errant hair. The crop looked good but I was unable to remove the hair to the degree of realism I like.

[jar_e]

As said before, I'm liking the second one. Great colors and a 'natural' pose!

Great shots,

Jared

[mjs1973]

The second shot is my favorite. To me it seems the most natural. I'm not a big fan of the crop of the first one as I would like to see the rest of her face. The pose in the third shot looks very unatural to me. Also, I would clone out some of the stray hairs in the arm pit area on the 3rd shot. I'm no studio expert, but that is my $0.02