nicolerenee

Colin, Patrick, James and Michael; Thank you so much! I enjoyed the whole process of creating this image, from start to finish. It marries photography and digital art, which is the best of both worlds for me. I'm pleased to see other people enjoying it as much as I do!~ Fred, Thank you. I was pretty excited myself. Oh, who am I kidding, I almost peed. Thank you also for the critique. I know what you mean about the trees, and, to be honest, I'm not entirely sure how I feel about them myself. I'm always looking for ways to place my subject solidly within the scene, and including the foreground often seems to help...but how pleasing the result is may end up being relatively subjective with this photo. I'm on this journey to create the visions that are inside my head, and while I know I've got a long way to go and so much still to learn, I'm really excited about where I'm going!

Thanks, Jim!

From a test shoot for a new series. Thanks!!

Ahh, I see. I thought there was something about that blur in the hair. It's always good to know an artists intentions, then at least we have an idea of what they're trying to achieve. Were you able to get close to the shot you wanted? All the best, Nicole

Again, a lovely girl, and what a pretty location! I think the exposure is off, though. It looks like you're in open shade here. I would expose for her skin, even if it means blowing some of the background. Pop a bit of fill flash, or fire an off camera flash, or even use a reflector and you've got a stunning shot. All the best! Nicole

I'm going to be the bad guy, although only with the best of intentions! Gorgeous girl, great choice of background, nice and sharp, great dof. However, I thinkg the skin has been softened a bit too much. The effect ends up looking like her nose is running into her cheeks a bit. Also, the think the flash is a bit too strait on. She's lost all dimension to her features and as a result, her face looks flat. I think if you framed her a bit more to the right, and moved the flash at more of an angle to the camera, this shot would improve by at least 50%. I hope the critique was helpful. NO intentions of being mean, I promise. I got a lot of this same advice and it improved my photography exponentially. All the best!! Nicole

This is an interesting environmental portrait. I enjoy the geometry, how she's framed, the repetition, it's a fun shot.

Moving hair can add a lot of dynamism to a photo, and it's nice to add some movement when a subject is sitting still. You're right, there is no predicting where the hair will go! So, a couple things about this shot... I'm wondering if you used a gausian blur on the background? It looks a bit like there's a blurry halo around parts of her head and the hair. I think the hair across her cheek and under her nose is a bit distracting, and if it's possible to clone out, I would do that. Also, the hair in her eye. For these kind of shots, it seems that either completely wild and crazy hair, or blown -but-under-control hair work, but something in between always feels a bit messy. Great expression on your model, she's really connecting to the camera. All the best! Nicole

Pretty girl! A few things I noticed that might make this a stronger photo... Where she's at in the frame. Her foot is right out the edge of the frame, which draws the eye right out of the photo. Also, the red pipe in the back is very distracting. I think a camera angle a bit more to the right to keep her whole body in frame would make the composition stronger. All the best! Nicole

Please critique. You won't hurt my feelings, I promise.