Potrait

[Fotowillem]

www.fotowillem.com/book

[caleb]

Get closer or crop more and keep track of distracting background elements, also getting some light reflected from below her face would help a ton

[retroactiv]

There is too much clutter in the background that is taking away from your subject, crop this photo and it would be better. I feel like you used some sort of effect on her, take it off also and just do black and white.

[Sushigaijin]

I disagree wholeheartedly with the previous posters (sorry guys!).

I think the clutter is amazing and it really tells me something about this person. I don't think the shot would be the same without it - i'd say it even makes the shot. Heck, I might even shoot it WIDER.

On the other hand, if you are looking for a studio-type mom and dog shot, you've failed miserably.

[SmartWombat]

Caleb, Retroactiv
You're thinking about conventional photos, like any high street photographer would take.
Willem is different.
This is his look, his style, it screams "Willem" to me
I'd be surprised if anyone else posted a picture like this, in black & white, here.

I'm astounded by his ability to get in close to his subjects, in their surroundings.

Wachtkamer (http://www.fotowillem.com/weblog/archives/00000638.html)
I didn't need to read the caption.
It's obvious it's a hospital waiting room.
I didn't even need to read the "oncologie" in the comment, I knew somehow.
Maybe it's my own hospital experience (6 years in clinical imaging).
But it moved me to tears without even knowing for sure what the subject was.
It's that good.

[Canuck935]

This is a fantastic image. I wouldn't change a thing. This is the power of photography at it's finest. Spend just a moment looking at the photo and you feel like you've learned a lot about the person in the photo, and you may even learn something about yourself depending on your own experiences. :thumbsup:

[jetrim]

Great photojournalistic shot. Caleb, Retroactiv, check out the link in his original post - some amazing shots!

[Frog]

I, too, love the surroundings that give persoanlity to your subject.
I especially think its great that there's a picture of the dog on the wall.

[caleb]

Caleb, Retroactiv, check out the link in his original post - some amazing shots!

I agree they are very powerful. I didn't understand the intent

[retroactiv]

I still don't see it.

[Didache]

This image intrigues me, and I think it is very good - very, very good. It is a trend in portraiture these days to put people within their context - so that the subject and their surroundings reflect onto one another to give a deeper insight into the person's life. It is not a new technique (eg the work of Diane Arbus - for an example see: http://thomashawk.com/hello/209/1017...uly%201964.jpg ), but it is has come into its own much more in recent years.

What I find intriguing about this image here is that the subject is posed more or less conventionally, yet the surroundings reflect the modern approach. I see a woman surrounded by the marks of her life, almost chaotically, yet she seems so self-composed. She gazes very confidently into the camera, yet there is an implied distance. Someone, perhaps, projecting an image of confidence, yet defining herself by the objects she surrounds herself with and not by human relationships - notice how the pictures are dogs, and not people, and the only "human" references are dolls. The little dog she clutches only adds to the overall impression - the dog is almost a barrier between the viewer and the subject: get close, but not too close. In short, this image tells us an awful lot more about the woman than a conventional studio shot could ever have done.

Good photography is not just about taking sharp pictures: at its best it's about offering the viewer a deeper glimpse into life.

And this is good photography. Look and learn.

Cheers
Mike

[readingr]

Willem,

I am always pleased to see your photo's here, What appeals to me is how well you seem to know your subject and that you get them in situations that says so much about them.

Mike put it so much better.

Perfect photo.

Roger R.

[Fotowillem]

Willem,

I am always pleased to see your photo's here, What appeals to me is how well you seem to know your subject and that you get them in situations that says so much about them.

Mike put it so much better.

Perfect photo.

Roger R.

Thank you al for the comments;-)

Willem

[Greg McCary]

I do agree with all of the positive comments. Portraits is about capturing a persons personality. You are very good at it I might add. I enjoyed the web site as with this picture. Nice work.