critique on beginner's work

[Vishiro]

hello! I posted this same thread in the SYS Portraits section, but was recommended to add the thread here for feedback! i've been practicing a bit and wanted to get some feedback on some of my work. here is a portrait of my beautiful wife. please dont hold back and be as honest as possible so that i may improve on my photography!

p.s. - i also have two other pics on the flickr site. feel free to comment on those as well.

[hobbyluv]

Hi, I'm new on the forum plus a beginner photographer, but I think this is a wonderful shot......all the elements are there......the background is nice, the placement is nice, looking away from the camera is nice, the choice of black and white is nice. I can never decide which photos to make black and white. I really like it... I will be interested to hear from the experienced. Keep up the good work!

[Vishiro]

Originally Posted by hobbyluv

Hi, I'm new on the forum plus a beginner photographer, but I think this is a wonderful shot......all the elements are there......the background is nice, the placement is nice, looking away from the camera is nice, the choice of black and white is nice. I can never decide which photos to make black and white. I really like it... I will be interested to hear from the experienced. Keep up the good work!

hey! welcome to DPS! thx for the feedback! much appreciated!

have fun learning all the new things this site has to offer! there's lots of info...i dont even know where to begin, lol!

[Benji]

Nice! My only nit pic is she has no receiving area. When photographing someone looking out of frame, there should be room for them to look into. You have the room, but it is behind her rather in front of her.

Benji

[Vishiro]

Originally Posted by Benji

Nice! My only nit pic is she has no receiving area. When photographing someone looking out of frame, there should be room for them to look into. You have the room, but it is behind her rather in front of her.

Benji

makes perfect sense. but just to make sure, even if whatever she was looking at was not in the picture, if i set it up the way you suggested, it would give that sense that she is looking out in a distance and give the viewer a thought as to what she may be looking at, correct?

[sma200]

I have looked at this post a few times, and every time I look at the pic there was something off about it-but I just couldn't put my finger on it. Anyhow, the void of space on the left side of the frame is all wrong, the void should be on the right side of the frame if she is looking towards the right side of the frame. Click on Give Your Subject Space to Look Into , this link will explain the logic behind this technique. The picture does give the appearance that she is looking twoards something, but not enough space in the photo to show the illusion. Also if the shot was positioned more to the right, her arm wouldn't be cut off as much. In this shot it would be better to have her arm in the frame, and then it will give the full effect that she is looking out of a window off to the distance somewhere. Hope this post helps and makes sense.

[Vishiro]

it sure does! thx for the link as well! and yes, it makes perfect sense as to why it would be better to have her positioned on the left than on the right. thx for taking the time to help me better my skills!

[cupidoneill]

Hey Vishiro, that is a good picture and i guess the negative space is the only thing that is not working but otherwise looking really good.

[windrider86]

Please be sure to get familiar with the guidelines. I am giving you a link to check therm out. Please review what should be included in your posts and then edit it accordingly. If you need any help, please do not hesitate to ask.