Self Portrait - week three

[mwatson]

Camera Pentax K10D
Exposure 0.017 sec (1/60)
Aperture f/4.5
Focal Length 45 mm
ISO Speed 140

My self portrait project is going in a little more different direction that Corey's. I am in the process of building a couple of soft boxes so while those are in the works, I am working with natural lighting.

This week I wanted to have a little fun. I went out to this preserve in the swamp and took this picture, "Running Scared."

What I would like to know...

Is the hand too silly or does it work?
What about the composition? I was already on the far right hand side of the frame but I cropped it down to where it is now. I thought having the "negative" space in the middle worked because there is something on both sides of the frame leading towards the other. Does this make sense and does it work?

[shocellist]

I'm not too sure how well the hand works here. I feel like if you cropped the hand out, your photo might become too portrait oriented.

The negative space works well because you (I'm guessing that's you since it's a self portrait) are looking to the left of the picture and behind slightly. If you were to take away the hand entirely (as in taking a new photo), I feel like you could get the viewer to be in your shoes: running away scared from who-knows-what.

To enhance that "running" feel, I wonder if it would be plausible to get the impression of more movement. Of course, being a self portrait, I can see where that could be very difficult.

[Corey Thompson]

I know very little about portraits so take this with a grain of salt. I think you did well in capturing the fear/emotion. For me though, the hand doesn't do enough to explain why you're afraid.
I think the tree cover did a good job at preventing hard light and strong shadows from being cast on your face. I think if you were to change anything with the lighting, try to get slightly more light on your face to help bring out a bit more detail in your face and hair.