"Egyptology 101" first in the critique forum, early in portraiture

[ah_u3]

Egyptology 101, Egypt runs in the veins of every Egyptian.

Canon 500D
1/60 shutter
f4 on Canon EF-S 55-250mm
ISO 400
Canon 270ex on camera bounced on ceiling

Hi everyone, first of all I have to thank you guys all for running such a great forum for newbies like me to finally get the chance to learn from the best, I've been around flickr for so long, still couldn't get enough exposure and hence enough criticism, so thank you all.

This is one of my early self portraiture shots, so all feedback is much appreciated, I'd ask a couple of specific questions like the rules suggested, so here we are;

When I thought of this shot, I had in my mind that GLORIOUS PROUD look me and the other Egyptians had on the streets during the 25th Jan. and the weeks that followed, I wanted AMBITION, LOOKING UP to something FURTHER- hence the horizontal gaze into the far distance, to ensure patriotic work has just started, not nearly done like some suggest.

Secondly, a medical student myself, I wanted this to look more like a TEXT BOOK ANATOMY sketch, hence the side pose, I been told a face-on forward pose would have suited this more, created more connection, but honestly, it's too exhausting to reshoot.

Last, I never intended to add the "hand and flag" part on the left, but when i reviewed this, the flag on my shoulders is quite obvious, with black portion blending into the background and the red not showing, so for a non-Egyptian viewer, it would have been a little bit ambiguous, so I don't know if I did a good work on that or I should crop it off.

At the end, I appreciate ALL FEEDBACK, donot stick to my questions, sorry for being too long, thanks.

Oh, and PLEASE check the rest of my flickr stream, I need to catch up on my previous shots.

[meganhurtphotography]

I like the concept a lot! My only critique of this is that the color are a little too contrasted. In the detail picture on the left, I feel like the red is too bright, almost cartoonish, and I I don't really like how your hair blends in with the background. Maybe you can get a line between the two in PP.
Other than that I don't mind the side profile at all, if you meant for it to look impersonal and medical, then that's all part of your photography creativity!
Next time, since you said you wish you would have done some shots facing the lens, maybe you could take a bunch of variations of the shot, and then figure out what you want in PP. Hey! It's digital film, snap away buddy! lol

[ncbcymtechie]

Well done! The more I look at it, the more I like it.

That being said, I agree with meganhurt that the red in the flag is far too vivid. It looks somewhat blown out—I really only see four colors in it, and therefore very few details: I see red, maroon, black, and pink-cream. Maybe tone down the post-processing some.

Also, the pose with the head doesn't quite sit right with me. If the head is raised, I think the eyes should also be raised skyward; if you look at the horizon, the head should sit level, parallel to the floor. Those are my own feelings, to be sure, but it seems slightly awkward and uncomfortable to have your head tilted up but your eyes fixed on the horizon.

Still, the shot captures a feeling, a poise, and I commend you for that. And the caption of Egypt running in the veins wholly adds to this. Well done, I say!

[Niresangwa]

Really needs a bit of rim lighting to separate subject from background.

[ah_u3]

Hey guys, sorry it took me so long to reply...
Overblown colors, maybe that's a display problem, see, I pp my photos using an LG 50' screen with a contrast ratio of 2,000,000:1, maybe that's why my colors seem over saturated on regular screens? or it doesn't have anything to do with it?? cause on my display the reds are actually not that bright at all, now that I've tried reviewing it on my laptop screen?? should I start using my laptop screen instead?