First ever post in the forum

[kjell]

Please don't be gentle.





Camera Nikon D80
Exposure 0.025 sec (1/40)
Aperture f/1.8
Focal Length 35 mm
ISO Speed 1000
Exposure Bias +1 EV
Flash No Flash
Exposure Program Shutter speed priority AE
Max Aperture Value 1.7
Subject Distance 1.19 m
Metering Mode Multi-segment
Creator Tool Adobe Photoshop Lightroom
Lens 35.0 mm f/1.8

[NicolaB]

The focus is slightly soft, but how on earth did you get such a comparatively good focus at 1/40th second at wide open? I assume you were hand holding the camera?

What exactly would you like critique on?

Gorgeous girl. I am sure the gents will like this one ;-) (I hope that is complimentary and not offensive to her!)

[kjell]

I'm quite new to SLR photography, so any critique will be helpful, technical or artistic. Don't really know anything specific to ask about
I had my elbows supported on the table in order to pull off the slow shutter. Took four snaps, and this was the lucky one I guess.

[katierose]

Wonderful skin tones, I really like it! I am also new to this, so no critical help from me

[NicolaB]

OK - well your colours and skin tones look great.

The crop is also great - it is balanced and she is looking 'into' the image. You can't move background stuff at folks houses in this instance ;-) but the bottle is a distraction. If you felt so inclined you could have a go at cleaning up the background esp by her ear and the top of her arm.

It is very much personal taste, but I would lower the vignette slightly.

I think it is a nice image and a lovely girl. She would make a great model for you if you could persuade her to do some portraits.

I'd say you are off to a flying start.

[IABoomer]

Exposure looks good. Depth of field is nice. Her face looks a little soft, but considering it's called "Dragonfly" I figure you probably focused on the jewelry, which if that's the subject then the focus works. Color balance seems a bit red, IMHO.

The bottle in front is a bit distracting, despite being blurred out. It's still a dark thing in the middle of a bright subject. The vignette is kind of heavy for my liking. And hey, let's not ignore the elephant in the room. The cleavage is BAM! Considering the apparent subject, I get where you want my view to go; but if at all possible, I'd try to make the jewelry stand out a bit more with a wardrobe change or a different pose if that's the goal.

[kjell]

Thank you for the feedback guys!
I can see that the vignetting is on the heavy side. It's easy to get carried away with Lightroom
The bottle in the foreground is very annoying to me too, so that's a lesson to me when I'm shooting, to think about stuff like that. But I enjoy catching my subjects slightly off guard, in stead of posing for the camera.
I did not intend to bring attention to the cleavage nor the jewelry (it's just a title). If anything, as I edited the photo I was concerned that the cleavage was taking too much attention away from the lovely expression on her face.
My main goal in editing the colors was to separate her from the background. I might have gone a bit overboard with Lightroom here as well, but I think the image benefits from the redness making her stand out, as I found that toning down the red made it more dull.