woman in red

[stew]

this is a photo from a series in what is my first structured attempt at capturing a live subject. my friend and i were walking in a local graveyard and she agreed to the experiment. i thought her red coat and her radiant smile contrasted amazingly against the greyness of the day.

my self-critique is that unfortunately she is a little out-of-focus. the f-stop is 4.5 as i intended to keep her as the main subject and intentionally blur the background. as i mentioned above, since this is my first attempt at this kind of thing, i would appreciate feedback?

[swampy]

this is a photo from a series in what is my first structured attempt at capturing a live subject. my friend and i were walking in a local graveyard and she agreed to the experiment. i thought her red coat and her radiant smile contrasted amazingly against the greyness of the day. as i mentioned above, since this is my first attempt at this kind of thing, i would appreciate feedback?

Well for the subject of the photo, it's a good one, I find it a bit blurry deeper in the picture but ..for the subject it's a good photo, maybe next time try a slightly different focus!

[gahspidy]

Stew,
I agree about the Red coat and a great smile you captured , stands out great against the darker grayish background. But she being cut off in half somehow does not feel right to me when I look at it. I think I would like to see this shot taken vertically to get most of the subject in the shot.I think the background is blurred just right. Clear enough for the viewer to see and feel the location, but not too clear to take away from the subject
You did a good job catching the expression on her face.

[Old Timer]

With a friend like that you will never lack for a model. She is stunning with the long blond hair and the red coat does indeed pop on the gray day. Normally I would not like an image where the main subject is looking or moving outside the short side of the frame, however your excellent placement of the tall tomb stone behind and to the right of your subject saved the day. Overall I think you have a very nice image. The softness doesn't bother me at all, on the contrary I feel it adds to the overall mood of the photo. Even though you shot in a place normally not though of as happy your subject expression and mood converts the mood of the photo. I would like to see you shoot a similar image taking advantage the striking blond hair and the red coat with the subject in a more reflective head lowered pose. Overall a very nice image one i'm sure the model will be very pleased with.

[stew]

Stew,
I agree about the Red coat and a great smile you captured , stands out great against the darker grayish background. But she being cut off in half somehow does not feel right to me when I look at it. I think I would like to see this shot taken vertically to get most of the subject in the shot.I think the background is blurred just right. Clear enough for the viewer to see and feel the location, but not too clear to take away from the subject
You did a good job catching the expression on her face.

Gary,

I wish I had taken some vertical shots but I didn't for some reason Maybe next time

As always, thanks for the comments!

-Stew

[stew]

With a friend like that you will never lack for a model. She is stunning with the long blond hair and the red coat does indeed pop on the gray day. Normally I would not like an image where the main subject is looking or moving outside the short side of the frame, however your excellent placement of the tall tomb stone behind and to the right of your subject saved the day. Overall I think you have a very nice image. The softness doesn't bother me at all, on the contrary I feel it adds to the overall mood of the photo. Even though you shot in a place normally not though of as happy your subject expression and mood converts the mood of the photo. I would like to see you shoot a similar image taking advantage the striking blond hair and the red coat with the subject in a more reflective head lowered pose. Overall a very nice image one i'm sure the model will be very pleased with.

I'm torn about the "softness" of her image. Part of me likes it too, but the other part of me wishes I at least had a sharper one to compare against, and then to be able to choose. The idea of a lowered head pose is interesting... hadn't thought about that. Hopefully I can arrange another "session" and get some more interesting shots of her.

In a few minutes, I'll post a head shot of her that i took the same day.

[Sebastian]

I like the horizontal framing, I don't like the gravestone to her left. It distracts form her. If it was just forest it would work well to contrast the bright red coat and big smile.

[stew]

I intentionally put the tree in the left side, again out-of-focus.

Interesting, because I just read Sebastian's feedback, and now I'm wondering if the tree which I initially felt added to the feel, doesn't instead distract...

I'm learning that pics of people can be very hard to do! But fun, too!

Thanks again for looking...

[Sebastian]

I intentionally put the tree in the left side, again out-of-focus.

Interesting, because I just read Sebastian's feedback, and now I'm wondering if the tree which I initially felt added to the feel, doesn't instead distract...

I'm learning that pics of people can be very hard to do! But fun, too!

Thanks again for looking...

This one is very well balanced, although exposure is a bit dark. Were these didigtal? If so, a custom white balance would have done a nice job at making the flesh look less pasty.

Just so you know, I have no issues whatsoever with the tree in the first one, it's the gravestone that bothers me. The tree adds to the environment IMO.

[stew]

This one is very well balanced, although exposure is a bit dark. Were these didigtal? If so, a custom white balance would have done a nice job at making the flesh look less pasty.

Just so you know, I have no issues whatsoever with the tree in the first one, it's the gravestone that bothers me. The tree adds to the environment IMO.

Yes, it's digital. I haven't played with the custom white balance except just once and briefly at that, in a controlled setting. Thanks, I'll consider that in the future.

I knew what you meant about the tombstone in the first pic... it was my reply was confusing! sorry about that. What I meant to convery is that your comment about the tombstone in the first pic got me thinking about the tree in the second one

[gahspidy]

Stew,
This latest shot is excellent. Only comment is as Seb stated about being a bit dark. The framing, blurred background and tree are perfect. Real nice job