Scott I would agree that is an awesome pic, wouldn't say it is one of your best since you do have a bunch of great shots.
Wow...in total agreement. Haven't seen your other work but this is great stuff. Love how her eye color "pops"
Very cool picture, love how the eyes grab my attention :thumb: You know I'm starting to venture in to lighting and it's not as easy as I thought it would be, I've been reading quite a bit at Strobist and boy there is lots to learn, but I'm slowly, slowly understanding the lighting aspect of photography. Any who great shot, always enjoy seeing your work eace:
yeah off camera lighting is a whole new ball game..but it takes your photography to the next level but just fyi....that pic was all natural light
First I want to say I really like this image, and I enjoy Scott's work, he has a very talented eye... not sure of his photo ambitions, but, he could easily make an income from his work... most photographers want to have their images published, and to be recognized. this image could be just a fun shot with a model, or the model could have paid him, for her portfolio, or better yet, a client could have paid them both for their efforts... with that in mind, I will be more critical in ways to improve this image... wink/smile... as with detailing, photography, especially people photography attention to details is vital... and the goal should always be to make the person look the best, or even better... whenever possible. and yes, there are some "rules" that need to be followed... composition... the first thing you notice, is that she is centered... not always the best, but, she is balanced well by the umbrella and the background. so while a rule was broken, it was broken effectively, without harm... know the rules, yes, break them when possible, but, break them with a purpose... about composition, we view any image just like we read, so our eye enters from left to right, and will instinctively go straight to the brightest point, with people, directly to the eyes... This image would be much stronger compositionally if it was flipped/flopped horizontally so she was facing to the left, and met the viewer's eye as it enters, you now see her back first, then her eyes... whenever a person is facing in one direction, you need to give them some space to be looking, for balance... since this image is white, it could easily be added, to offset her, just a little, and give her more space... details... when shooting people, and when the face is prominent try not to have objects or body parts in front of the face, as they can distract from the face, and can also make the face appear smaller... in this case her hand, and her shoulder, a slightly higher camera angle would have solved this... you want to try to avoid shooting into a shoulder, as it shows the wide-side of the arm, making her arm appear bigger than it is, you want the model to better than she is... this could easily be fixed in Photoshop, by using the "liquify/pucker" tool, by moving the backside of her arm, or reducing the shoulder all together... you could easily straighten her posture by tilting her head back a little with the free transform tool... Be very careful of merging body parts, in this case, her eye and her lips are very close to merging... her eye, with the background, and her lips with her cheek. another small, but important detail, is her earring, it should be in front of the umbrella, it is more important, than the umbrella... this could also be easily fixed, in PS, as I am sure, he has another image of her, that shows the earring. lighting and edges... whatever lighting style or technique you choose, you want to be able to hold the edges, and avoid them merging/blending into the background. in this case her face, neck and fingers, and less important, but, still important the umbrella edges... even with the high-key approach, you need the edges... while it is not completely incorrect, it only limits the use of the image... if this image was used for advertising, it would be fine, for a quality magazine print, but, the image could not be used in a lower quality print media like a newspaper, or a billboard... the photographer never knows how the client may choose to use the image. Yes of course these edges could be fixed in PS, if not through exposure adjustment of the RAW file, then just re-created... you should never have any concerns about tweaking/fixing any image in Photoshop, to make it better, especially when a beautiful woman is involved, or if the image is for a portfolio or a client... Every image should be important enough to fix/enhance... even snapshots... the most difficult thing for a photographer to do, is to edit or critique their own work. to look at their own images objectively... always shoot for yourself, and your enjoyment, but, more importantly, shoot for the viewer... especially the ones that may pay you... wink/smile... Great work Scott... I look forward to seeing more...
just to add a little more, found this link that shows what happens to almost every published image in the fashion world... hair, make-up, the shoot... then notice all the digital corrections... enjoy... YouTube - Dove - Evolution Commercial
