Phil

[thephotophile]

Nikon F801s, Nikon 50mm F1.8, Fuji Superia 200 iso. Developed by local lab and scanned by me on a CanoScan 5600F. Edited with the Gimp.

So what do you guys think, did this portrait come out ok? Any tips for improving it in any way?
I really would love to have some input!

[thephotophile]

58 views, no comments... is this normal or am I just impatient?

[sdaggett]

It wasnt so long ago that I had the same feeling... so even though I dont feel qualified to give feedback, I will becasue I know how I wanted any type of response ;-)

I think technically, the picrue is great! great lighting, great bokeh and focus on the face. now for the constructive critique, I think the photo is lacks something truely interesting about it.

Hope that helsp!

Shaun

[thephotophile]

Thanks Shaun, I really appreciate it! I guess I'll have to try and find that spark, or pizazz, some special thing to give my portraits an edge, to set them apart from the snaps.
Have a great day!
David

[PinkLens]

Hello Cant see the image-have you take it off? Would love to see it.

Thanks,
Priya.

[thephotophile]

It keeps vanishing for some reason. I'll link from another site and see if that helps.

[audrey-g]

hi photophile
it happens that sometimes you do not get response or it takes long. i am not a pro but i like the picture as it is. i like the focus on the face and the good dof. i think lighting is good too. well by my standards it s technically good, then it's a question of personal likes
audrey

[Chip]

I don't do a whole lot of portrait work either, so take this for what it's worth.

I like the gradient in the back, the light, and the "contrasty" conversion (assuming the Superia is color film).

They eyes, though, and the irises in particular, look too dark to me. If I could see the eyes a bit more, the photo would be much more compelling to me.

Also, I'm torn on having him look at something out of the scene. While I do like the effect, I wonder how it would look if there was a bit more room for him to look into? Maybe a 4:5 format?

Finally, are the eyes in sharp focus? Looks like they are, but it's hard to tell.

As for lots of views with no comments, it unfortunately does happen at times. Also, people who aren't members can't post - so if lots of non-members view your photo, it will skew the results.

Again, just my 2 cents.

[thephotophile]

Thanks for the positive comments guys! I really appreciate it!
More importantly, thanks for the constructive criticism, I really want to learn more and this is the only way.

As far as his eyes, they are naturally dark and the iris is hard to see even in real life, but point taken, maybe more reflection in the eye from an alternative light source would help.

Concerning the focus, you should see a print of this photo, it is tack sharp in all the right places, and on my 17" LCD screen it looks great too.

And yes, it was converted from colour film, since then I have taken a few portraits on real b&w film and the difference is like night and day. I will have to post one of those soon.

Have a great day!

David

[Benji]

My critique.

I've been told my critiques tend to be hard. I try and be as nice as possible but when one asks for critique, comments like "nice shot" or "great image" doesn't help the image maker. In fact it actually hinders him or her because they will simply repeat the same mistakes over and over again. I base my critiques on my 24 years as a working professional portrait photographer. I will post several of my images for your perusal and to show you I'm just not another GWC. :

There are streaks of light across his forehead, from an overhead light. They should not be there. There is no eye contact with the viewer. If the subject has protruding ears like your subject has the head should be turned so either only one ear shows, or only a partial (far) ear shows.

Benji