First Low Key Portrait

[Bulgart]

This is my first try of a low key portrait of my wife. I bounced the flash of of the white wall, no reflectors or anything else. I think it was quite underexposed, so I brighten it a little in Lightroom. Is it still quite underexposed, or is it acceptable? Any other thoughts, and tips would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Exif:
Exposure 0.013 sec (1/80)
Aperture f/11.0
Focal Length 50 mm
ISO Speed 100


Baba Low Key by bulgarts, on Flickr

[BigFuzzy]

On one hand, it's fine if that's what you were going for.
On the other hand, I, personally don't love this sort of low key image. But that's a taste thing.

The one thing I definitely feel can be improved is that the skin (and image overall) has a very "grey" flat feel to it. I personally would play with the b&w settings to get something more white than grey on the skin.

As I said, I've never really been a fan of "head floating on black background" sort of photos so keep that in mind when you read my comments.

Also, the fact that you can see hints of her hair in the black, but very little of it is a bit distracting to me.. it either should be clearly more visible (ie more exposed) or completely black.