Head shot of my cousin

[boloto]

Thank you for taking a look at this picture.
I am wondering
1. Is the hair a little too puffy?
2. Does composition looks good? Natural?
3. Should I change the background a bit so it won't be as distracted?
4. What should be improved so it looks like professional photograph? (I hope it does not look like a strange question, but I am not sure how else to ask. I really want my pictures look stunning, but don't know what improvement might lead to that)

Thanks!


IMG_1244 - 2011-10-28 at 21-04-49 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Canon PowerShot S95
ISO800
13 mm
f 3.5
1/60

[Ekir]

Heya-

I think the only thing really lacking in this photo is the composition- try a little more space above the head and if you shoot landscape mode with a preson, a nice look is "negative space" where you show to the right (in this photo) what the person may be looking at or just the background blurred to the side. Remember/learn the rule of thirds, it doesn;'t work so well in a square crop.
I think a little more contrast in this photo would be nice too
Other then that, her eyes are sharp, she has a lovely expresion, and I feel you have caught her personality well here

[Madog]

IMO the hair is not too puffy, the composition could use more "breathing" room, and I concur with Ekir on the square crop.

[zona5101]

maddog eluded to it - close ups with a wide angle lens distort the perspective- -her nose looks huge and the most prominent element in the photo - generally not what you (or your subject) want.
Direct flash is not your friend. It provides an unflattering, flat light with specular highlights (lip, nose, forehead, hair).

[TNH]

The hair looks fine to me. A lot of volume in your hair is always great...

I don't care too much for the angle this was taken at. I find myself tilting my head a little to look at her face.
I think it could use a little more room above her head, too.

I would try to get eye contact with her next time. I like pictures where people are looking into the camera, instead of looking away from it. When they're looking at something that's not in the picture, I always wonder what they're looking at, and I look in that direction instead of at her. Other than that, I like her expression.

I don't know about the background. I think it is distracting, but I don't know how it would look if you changed it. You can always try to, though. Try, and post your result here.

What exactly are the colors in this picture? Black & white? Sepia? It looks like a little of both. I like the colors anyway! Nice job with that. ☺


P.S. You'll get more responses if you post your picture here, instead of including it as a link. Here is a great tutorial on how to do that.

[boloto]

WOW! This is awesome - thanks a lot, everybody - it is exactly what I wanted. Interesting that two people commented on the head room - I thought before that the tighter crop on the head - the better.
I like the color on the picture also, but unfortunately can't get any credit for that since I used an action
Also it is always surprise me - hoe people know that it was direct flash?

Thanks again!!