Leah in the woods

[SpektrumEnt]

I've wanted to do this kind of shoot! Leah looks out of place in her dress... lost. Yet she is in an absolutely beautiful setting! I am asking myself, "What is the story in this photo?" The darkness suggests that she is frightened that it is getting dark and she will be alone in the wilderness alone. I am also asking, "what is the subject?" That is obviously Leah. In your first cropping she is almost secondary to the beautiful fern in the foreground. Your second cropping really works if my scenario is correct. If not I like the way that Wood created the contrast by lightening her. She and her dress are dominant in his example!

[lputman]

I'm specifically thinking of an image that jiminyClickit had processed and it was just spectacular...TheHat on Flickr - Photo Sharing! and one that peeperita had done, orton a cat.....

[sketching]

Originally Posted by Lydiafairy

This is my first critique here, I looked at a bunch of other folks shots and all of the super helpful hints, I am hoping for a few myself....

Cropping closer to Leah would help to give her more visual weight. Choosing a dress that stands out from the surroundings would help to draw the eye to her. If you can darken the surroundings and give more light to the subject, aiming a flash unit at the subject only, you can also help to frame the subject with the darker surroundings. Below is an edit of the image to try and illustrate what I mean...

[Lydiafairy]

Sorry I have not been back to thank all of you for your time and fine suggestions, some a little over my skill set ;-).
@Denja- I think you are right! Thanks!
@Laura Wilkerson- I don't use photoshop much if at all... I use picassa most of the time. My goal is to become skilled enough that I don't have to edit much at all.
@SpektrumEnt- Thank you ! I do love the darker parts of the fairy tale, the lost in the darkness seems to speak to me. Thank you!
@Iputman- Ah- Thanks so much for the examples! They are Fantastic, I like the orton effect and have not tried it yet
@Sketching- Thank so much! This whole post shows I have MUCH to learn... and it is strange to see my giant pale pink dress so bright! ;-) She really does stand out more, I need to be mindful of my clor choices.

[pix_e_l8]

I think I quite like the dress, and the setting is perfect, I actually do not mind PP if it helps out an otherwise lovely photo with just a little something missing. I have almost as much fun finding new tricks with my PP program as I do with my camera.
I'm not on my usual computer, nor do I have my regular program available here, but I thought you might like to see what I was able to do with a little playing, hopefully it's not too oversaturated - this screen doesn't read the colours well.
I don't believe it's a lost shot, for the sky or the dress, several people have shown some great alternatives already.
Hope you have some fun experimenting!

[mary_s]

i like the crop, and would still think that a brighter dress would suit the photo a little better-- just to make her pop. good shot.

[Lydiafairy]

@pix e 18- I Like the soft focus a lot! Thanks! It looks like she is straight out of a story book

@Mary s Thanks Dear! I need to be more aware of the dress and surroundings, sometmes I get the tunnel vision and dont see that what I am doing actually does not work. ;-)

[DChadwick]

I think the positioning of your subject is fine, The white light from behind is distracting though, Try finding a spot in the woods that is more lush behind your subject to filter out the back light. Also, a light blue dress would stand out more against the other colors. Very nice picture.