Stunning Jenny (where did I go wrong?)

[Alison]

Well, the January finalists have been notified. And I'm not one of 'em!

And I thought this was one of my exceptional pieces. The colour one was entered into a competition. The B&W is in here to show it in grayscale and for your opinions.

I need alot of help with my photography because I obviously don't have what it takes to win!

[swmdrayfan]

Alison---maybe it's me, but Jenny's eyes look oof. What was your aiming point?
John

[Alison]

Her nose probably! This is a cropped version.

[julsoph]

I love her pose, but for some reason, this one isn't as "wow" as your other couple...and I think it has to do with her eyes as well.
I also wonder if this is just me, but the black sleeves throw me off quite a bit...I think this might be stronger if it were cropped right at her wrists, but that could totally be preference.

I do like this a lot, and I think her hands are beautiful against her face.
Emily

[dmm96452]

The reflections in her eyes takes something away from them. IMHO.

[GB1]

I like the color better, but these side by side are very interesting in themselves!

It's always hard to figure out why you didnt win a contest when you thought you had a winner. Unlike technical fields, art is just not a deterministic (predictable) science.

GB

[freygr]

I like the pose but I don't like the crop, you cut of her head......... I also like the color photo over the B&W

[ken1953]

Alison, I've only recently found your photos and really like most of what you have done. So much so, that I told my wife to look at your stuff as she is interested in shooting portraits and I think your stuff has a lot to offer. She has only started taking photographs seriously, within the past couple of weeks. There are several excellent portrait photographers on here and I think we can all learn a lot from you and from them!!!
My comment on the photos above also has to do with the pose. I feel that her hands are pulling her eyes down, which is making them "unexciting" for such beautiful eyes. I'm sorry though, since I am new to photography and portraits are not my strong suit, I really can't offer any suggestion on what I'd do to strengthen it. Regardless...It's a very nice photo and I think it's a keeper as is!!!
Ken

[Alison]

Her eyes, right, so I shall try cloning a catchlight, see how it looks and crop it to her wrists.

Freygr - I cut her head off for a reason. I didn't like the position of her legs. Maybe if I had cut it further down toward her hands it would have been better, yes? This is going to be a very tight crop lol.

Thank you for all the compliments you paid me Ken.
Don't be sorry. I like to hear what you have to say. Be it negative or positive.
I still have an awful lot to learn but I have improved in a very short space of time, (since October when I got my 1st set of lights).And all self taught.
In my opinion, there's always room for improvement

Thanks everyone! Will post the new and improved version soon. See how it looks. Watch this space hehe.

Until then, take a look at what Jenny looked like before the operation on her squint. And, before you as...no, this is not a joke.