Wyoming Girls Are Cuter

[Penny Richens]

I don't know that Wyoming Girls really are cuter, but I'm glad I got your attention. Please let me know what I could have done better here. It's one of my more solid shots, but I still feel like there is something missing and I'm not experienced enough to figure out what it might be.



here is a link to my EXIF data: Exif | _MG_0006 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
mera Canon EOS Digital Rebel XS
Exposure 0.001 sec (1/800)
Aperture f/5.0
Focal Length 131 mm
ISO Speed 1600
Exposure Bias 0 EV
Flash Off, Did not fire
Orientation Horizontal (normal)
X-Resolution 240 dpi
Y-Resolution 240 dpi

[ChrisAdval]

Originally Posted by Penny Richens

I don't know that Wyoming Girls really are cuter, but I'm glad I got your attention. Please let me know what I could have done better here. It's one of my more solid shots, but I still feel like there is something missing and I'm not experienced enough to figure out what it might be.



here is a link to my EXIF data: Exif | _MG_0006 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
mera Canon EOS Digital Rebel XS
Exposure 0.001 sec (1/800)
Aperture f/5.0
Focal Length 131 mm
ISO Speed 1600
Exposure Bias 0 EV
Flash Off, Did not fire
Orientation Horizontal (normal)
X-Resolution 240 dpi
Y-Resolution 240 dpi

The photo looks fine, but just one thing on her face I would have removed with some healing brush (in between nose on the near top right corner)

As for technique I would have lowered the shutter to 1/60th and lowered the ISO to 100 or 200.

What lens you used?

Also another suggestion when uploading web quality resolution its generally best to lower the dpi to 72.

[zona5101]

The closeness in color of the top of the background and her hair makes her blend with the background. It would be nice to have more separation either through distance or some rim/hair light to provide the separating accent.

[R lake]

The picture is nice ,but I am agreeing about the cute Wyo girls, my wife is from the "cowboy state". I lived there for five years.....most beautiful place on earth, if you look in the right places.

[Matthew_Scullion]

I think it's a great shot but for me it looks like there's a little to much post-prod. Have you used some sort of glow/glamour filter and/or skin softener? Also, teeth are a bit zingy white.

I think these post prod steps are fine but maybe could benefit from being dialled back a little.

My rule of thumb on effects etc.. Tune it til you think it looks right, then dial-back opacity to 50%!!!

[BigFuzzy]

Hi Penny,

It is a solid shot but there are definitely a couple of things I would have done slightly differently to add a bit of bang to the shot.

First, and most importantly to me is the composition. It's pretty standard (and to me, boring) dead-center composition. It's like 99% of the shots out there in this sense. Get slightly higher, and a bit to one side.. change things up a bit because dead on is just.. meh.. to me.

As mentioned above, the background color is too close to the hair so there's not enough separation from the BG. Also, all that detail is a bit distracting.. I'd have moved her a bit further away to further blur the background.

Lastly, the skin/teeth work is a bit obvious (hence overdone) in my opinion. As soon as I looked at the image I thought "skin smoothing, teeth whitening"... maybe I'm wrong, but somehow doubt it.
Those are the things I spotted straight out.

If I had to be super picky.. I don't like how the necklace is hidden under the shirt..

Otherwise, I agree, it's a solid start.. just start yourself thinking more along the lines of "how can I make this different?" because you have to assume most shots have been done a million times before, so how's yours different, how does it stand out? Think composition first..

Good luck!

[rotty022]

i'd have to agree with bigfuzzy about the composition. most of my shots are dead center and i really want to learn how to move my subject around. if you are going to do more portrait shots, i would take bigfuzzy's advice and start to move them around.

[cyber3d]

IMO, the background is too busy. Portraiture is usually better with a shallow DOF (biggest F-stop you can use) - also IMO.

I tried a gaussian blur in the background and it worked wonders.

I also, tried to reduce the saturation on the background and that did not work. I then tried altering the exposure for the background and that also did not work.

So, I say, try to blur the background in PSD, let it sit a while and then compare before and after.

While it is better to practice DOF adjustments in the field, it is nice to know PSD can "fix" DOF issues.

[fais54]

I'll chime in to say that I think it looks nice but the black levels/contrast could be boosted a tiny bit just to make the whole thing pop more. As far as PP, I think the skin looks fine, but I agree with who said her teeth are really white. It may be natural, and not necessarily a bad thing, but they really stand out to me. I don't really mind that her hair/background sort of blend a little bit.

Good job!

[utsc2006]

I like it. I think she's a pretty girl and the colors are very nice. However maybe some artistic direction is needed. What is this photo for? A headshot for an actor? Is it a family photo? Is she a model working on her portfolio? Maybe adding a bit more space around her and using the rule of thirds to give it a different composition. Just my opinion!