I feel like Frodo

[stevesutt89]

I've been trying self portraits on and off for a few months now. This is the one i've been most happy with, although I now realise it is (very) reminiscent of one posted by 'thingy' a few weeks ago. Oh well.....i'll post it anyway...

ISO 100, F/2.8, 1/125 sec

What do you think

[gmarques]

I think I've spot a glow in the shadowed eye.
It's overdistracting me

[stevesutt89]

Glow removed........

[gmarques]

I'm not a portrait photographer but even so I'll try to give you my opinion.
I think the light/shadow zone is to agressive.
Maybe if the light comes from another angle the shadow could be more smooth.

But if your idea is to completly hide one part of your face it worked well with the exception of the zone above the top of your nose that is different from the zone below.

[praesentire]

Very intense image. I'm enjoying the details like the short facial hairs that adds to the aggressive feel of the image. They also add definition to your chin which further adds edge to the image.

I think the underexposed half of your face works nicely with the intensity. I do agree with gmarques that the photo works well w/o the point glow on the shadowed eye. Maybe crop a little more from the left and a little more room on the top, right, and the bottom might help.

A couple of things I would do here is to straighten the photo so that your nose line is perfectly vertical. I think it will add an idea of order that will contrast with the intense stare.

Another thing I'm wondering is if the shirt collar at the bottom right should be removed or not. On one hand, if it was a rugby shirt and you include the shoulders to show it. It would tell a little more about the story behind the stare. However, by including the shoulders, you detract attention from the stare itself. I'm on the fence on this one.

I think you've done a great job on your self portrait here. And you do resemble Elijah Wood

[kunaldaswani]

I like it, and i prefer the one with the glow. IMHO