Studying? Or something?

[souledout]

I took this shot at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles a few months ago. I'm mostly looking for critique on the composition, but I'll take any advice I can get. I didn't want to crop it too much, because I wanted to keep the building in the background. Does that make it too...busy? Cluttered?

Camera: Nikon D40
Exposure: 0.004 sec (1/250)
Aperture: f/8.0
Focal Length: 34 mm
Focal Length: 33.6 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off, Did not fire

[hometex9]

In my opinion it is a bit busy, my eyes go right to the background and the subject is lost. Maybe getting closer and using a wider aperture would have helped. Other than that I love the picture, the placement of the subject is very nice, and the concept is fresh and inspiring

[ricklumpas]

Better if you had taken the shot at a lower angle, still showing the part of the busy background. Usually the simpler the background for portrait shots, the better though there are exceptions.

[Azeiku]

I agree with the other two posts and actually, I didn't even notice the subject at first. My eyes were lost in the plants. Good detail level though in the photo. :-)

Azeiku

[Trader]

What is the subject of this image? If it is the girl studying then there is far too much included for that to work. Her dark cloths against the dark bush there is not very flattering from the angle you chose to take the picture at. Did you do any post processing on it? It does look over processed.

[souledout]

Is this any better? I cropped it and blurred/desaturated the background.

[RuthieMae]

I actually really liked the first composition and crop. The image was way oversharpened though so I believe that's what made it look overprocessed.

[ericw]

I like the loose crop and having the plants in it, but I think the building needs to come out. I find the building to be a distraction but the plants ok. So my suggestion is... as loose a crop as you can use to get the building out.

I think a landscape version could've been interesting as there are lots of horizontal lines.

[EOBeav]

I hardly notice there's a person there! Even after the 2nd crop, it looks way too busy. A different angle might have helped this, along with taking this shot much closer in.

[wal]

the first one is better, the second one looks over processed. looks cluttered