Stormy!

Here is my first one for critique...
http://clients.jcephotography.net/ph...8xfg45B-XL.jpg

f7.1
1/250
45mm

The strongest element of this photo is the eyes of the model. It looks like they are the same color as the stormy sky and to me the contrast with the white tank is just stunning. But then I move down the photo to the rest of the sweaty wrinkled shirt, and it just doensn't to it for me. Had it been a fresh shirt, it might have worked. But I think this would be a very striking image if it were cropped just below the neckline of the shirt.

The light balance is great. I love these types of photo where you can't tell a flash was fired (well not too much anyways) I'm not crazy about the pose though. I wish there was a bit more artistic pose. but the ambiant light is also great in the distance. perfect balance.

Thanks you two. I will see what I can do. I might have some others from this shoot. I will post them.

I nearly missed this, which would have been too bad, because I like it. The background, pose, gaze, and colors remind me of a cross-between Erwin Olaf and Loretta Lux (the bg is very Luxian). And the lighting is good.

I agree that the sweaty shirt detracts. Perhaps you can clone/patch that out. (I would try; this image is worth the effort.)

I also agree about the crop. Either just below the necklace or just below the neckline would make more sense and strengthen the image. In any case, don't leave it with the hands chopped off at the wrists.

Anything else, to me, is an aesthetic consideration and up for debate. Should the main light have been higher up? Should there have been a backlight? Should there have been rim lights a la Joel Grimes? (I'm glad you stayed away from the latter option.)

Were this my image I would be tempted to veer into more illustrated territory by lightening, de-reddening (that word again), and retouching the skin, not necessarily because of the imperfections, but to decrease evidence of the lighting used.

At any rate, I do like it a lot. The background is killer. Great subject, too.

I agree on the crop and that arms cut off at the wrists is awkward. The background is great and I like the lighting too. Just the right amount of fill.
His sweaty shirt, posture, and expression seem unappealing to me but that may be more a matter of taste.

Great expression, if not a tad disturbing for whatever reason. I like the lighting and background, but I think I would play with the contrast, etc settings to give it just a little more punch. It's very close.

They say never cut off at the joints. (Now that we all know that rule, we can think of good ways to break it.) I think this one would be better if the cut was mid way across the forearms. I also wonder if you can make the white T-shirt a little whiter w/o messing up any other colors.

G

Okay....I have taken and on a first edit of the original edit, let me see if you guys like this. I will play around with the other ideas and suggestions. The first change I made was the crop. It was suggested that I do it below the necklace or color of the shirt. I am still working on neutralizing the rain soaked parts of the shirt, so I will post that one after I get done cloning it. I don't think I need to start a new thread to post up an edit to the original I posted for critique....if so, please let me know and I will remove it from here and post it there.

http://clients.jcephotography.net/ph...b8D86r7-XL.jpg