The Better To See You With

[NickS]

I took this photo of my friend, and was just wondering if there was anything I could have done to improve it? Specifically, does the focus seem off? And do the colors look over done? Any other suggestions are appreciated as well.
Thanks!


Camera: EOS Rebel T1i
Exposure Mode: Auto exposure
Exposure Time: 1 / 80
Flash: Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode
FNumber: 1.8
Focal Length: 50

[NicolaB]

I love it. The eyes are sharp and the DOF works well. I love the sharp blue eyes, the curls and the freckles. The depth and colour all look fab to me.

[Astro Visual]

I think it all depends on what you were going for here Nick.

The short DOF has blurred those bangs and the end of her nose, but the eye on our left is tack sharp and the right one is close (could do with a bit of sharpening) so it works.

Not sure what your light source was as it says no flash, but it appears to be straight one which has flattened any textures and shadows. maybe turning her away from the light a little might have yielded some nice shadows? That might not have been the look you wanted though.

The composition itself, almost works for me, but not quite. I think, at least for my tastes, less forehead and seeing the mouth might have been a stronger look for this. Judging by the aspect ratio you've cropped this a bit so maybe that's a possibility with this.

Colour wise I don't think it's over the top at all. I may have pushed it a bit further even myself.

Thanks for sharing

[dave.turley]

Hi,
It's an interesting view and a fascinating face. For my taste I think I'd like either only eyes, or the mouth as well as what we see here. I like the shallow DOF and agree that a little sharpening of one of the eyes and a bump in colour would lift things generally.
Dave

[Laurenbiz]

I definitely love this!

[NickS]

Thanks for all the input! One of the suggestions I saw was to crop tighter on the eyes. Unfortunately I didn't have the mouth in the original, so I couldn't include that. Anyway, here's my newest edit.

[SusanH1970]

I actually like the original crop better, and I'm not always a fan of partial-face crops. But, in the original,my eyes went straight to hers. In the more recent crop, my eyes went everywhere that was a bright spot, except hers. Maybe I'm in the minority, but that's how my eyes saw it. Maybe it was lack of framing.

I do love the clarity and sharpness of the original, though. Well done.

[natek313]

The focus is spot on, and I like the original crop the most.

The only thing I would nit-pick is her skin tone. To me, it looks to have just a touch too much magenta.

Other than that, great shot with a great title!

[SusanH1970]

Originally Posted by natek313

The only thing I would nit-pick is her skin tone. To me, it looks to have just a touch too much magenta.

That too. Pulling out some magenta and warming her up a touch would be great.

Nice catch, Nate.