Couch Girl

[mitchcook]

so this is a new year

exif:
Shutter Speed:1/200 second
Aperture:F/5.6
Focal Length:47 mm
ISO Speed:320

I am simply wondering what ppl think of the colouring... my camera was kinda glitching out this day. someone had changed some mystery settings and everything was coming out in grey tones. I reset my camera now, seems good.
also, any comments on pose, compositions, etc... are appreciated.
At this size, i doubt it, but can you see the dust on my sensor, showing in the walls or anywhere else on the image?

Thanks,

Mitch

[mcklynna]

Its a good picture and the color looks fine to me. It looks like the focus is mainly on her legs, which is nice b/c she has nice legs, but her face is a little out of focus.

[tomdinning]

Are you taking passport photo's as well. If I was the young woman I'd be asking you to burn this one. Unflattering perspective, legs look like they don't connect, couch is from a shrinks office, she looks like she might hit you any minute.
My wife just walked in and added a few things that are very unflattering so I won't pass them on but she did ask if the photographer had just bought the couch.
If you know this woman, and you have any relationship with her, find out what it is and lets see it. Relate to her through the camera. Talk to her about what you want. Get a little intimate. Get closer. Use an interesting surrounding or nothing at all.
And lets get some lighting going here. She looks like she's had a bad nose job.
I'm being a bit harsh because I want you never to take another portrait of this obviously beautiful young woman until you fall in love with her and would never do anything to hurt her feelings. When you have, post them and lets see the difference.

[klam]

The lighting isn't flat, it's short lite and there is a nice shadown under her chin. The pose is fine, it dosn't make her look any heavier than she is. She looks very thin still. I'm not liking the placement/pose of her right hand tho. The main issue for me is that her expression in her eyes isn't working for me.

Other than that it's a decent picture

Yes, clean your sensor.

[Cathrine]

What was this picture intended for? In my opinion the whole picture looks bland--but I see the potential to be a real good photo. I love the posture and the couch idea.
Maybe you can increase some contrast... change the color tone... but definitely fix the model's face.

[mitchcook]

Originally Posted by tomdinning

Are you taking passport photo's as well. If I was the young woman I'd be asking you to burn this one. Unflattering perspective, legs look like they don't connect, couch is from a shrinks office, she looks like she might hit you any minute.
My wife just walked in and added a few things that are very unflattering so I won't pass them on but she did ask if the photographer had just bought the couch.
If you know this woman, and you have any relationship with her, find out what it is and lets see it. Relate to her through the camera. Talk to her about what you want. Get a little intimate. Get closer. Use an interesting surrounding or nothing at all.
And lets get some lighting going here. She looks like she's had a bad nose job.
I'm being a bit harsh because I want you never to take another portrait of this obviously beautiful young woman until you fall in love with her and would never do anything to hurt her feelings. When you have, post them and lets see the difference.

Sorry for the late reply.
I am truly disappointed that critique has to be so rude sometimes.


Thanks everyone for the critique. I do realize the photo isn't perfect, sorry for wasting time.

[dvtldav]

Originally Posted by mitchcook

Sorry for the late reply.
I am truly disappointed that critique has to be so rude sometimes.


Thanks everyone for the critique. I do realize the photo isn't perfect, sorry for wasting time.

Don't let one person ruin it for you. This person may not know as much as he/she thinks they know and are just trying to impress people.
I agree the shot may not be perfect but it is better than a lot I have seen on here and I have only been on this forum for about 3 weeks.
Don't feel you have wasted anyone's time because if that is the case then we have all wasted peoples time because none of have posted the perfect picture yet and we are all here to learn. Just accept critique for what it is and not an attack on you personally. Look at all of the critiques and find what is common amongst them and that is probably what you need to fix.

Dave

[katieglenn]

Seriously....ignore that guy. I've been on here for a month or two and have never seen such rude comments.

[graciousness]

This is my first post here! Yey!

This is the harsh thing about forums and soliciting critiques - you'll find yourselves receiving some really harsh critiques even to the point of rudeness. You will either have to learn to ignore them, or feel sorry for the rude poster for their bitterness or their idiocy. You can't possibly let them get to you for too long as they don't deserve that much attention.

I'm a newbie too and I'm sorry I can't offer technical advice on your photo. But to me, what stands out is that her face is not focused. However, if your focus, literally is on her lovely legs, perhaps you really needed to not only focus on that, but change the angle of where you are taking the photo and shoot her legs from low position, looking up at her. It will blur her, definitely but distort her image from the angle, but it would make her legs really stand out. But do this candidly, take the photo when she's engaged in conversation or in thought so that she is not looking into the camera. This is what I'd experiment with, anyway and see what I get.

I think the bigger issue, though, is that her face is just a little bit blank. Her eyes do not convey any feeling or thought and she's not engaged into anything but her obvious consciousness that her photo is being taken. Her character needs to show in the photo, or let her display some sort of character. I think this is what makes portrait interesting.

That's just my two cents worth....I hope this is of any help at all......

It's clear that you had some vision of what you wanted the image to be when you did the session. Perhaps with more angle and composition experimentation, you'll find what you are looking for.

[bikingbadger]

Tom might have gone over the top but I would tkae what he said and learn from it. He might not be correct in how it came across but look at the points he made and see if you can make changes.