A certain gleam in her eye

wonderful portrait, I love how the light enhances the face , and the look so touching

Lovely tonality. Perhaps a little less shoulder? Really eye catching.

Murray

Brisbane, Oz

Like the composition. The shoulder breaks it up a bit but it works. Th eyes draw your attention Great work

I love the tones and, unlike others, think her shoulder in the picture is what gives it charm. Too many people photograph what they focus on with the eyes and lose all context. Without her shoulder it is standard "model staring at camera trying to look cold because the photographer read thats what is artsy!". But instead it comes off as kid having fun and playing model.. and trying not to laugh.

 

The tones are magnificent and you Nailed it with this picture. I hope i can do people that well someday. Too many 'photographers' Think they can do people but just produce hackery labelled as art. THIS is art and you'll be lucky if you match this again imho.

 

Btw the lack of airbrushing etc letting her freckles and reality adds a lot to this picture. More photographers should take note of that.

It's very very nice!The tones are exellent!!!7-6

The only negative thing I can come up with......It will suck to be you when she turns 16. lol Beautiful portrait, Beautiful girl....you should be proud.

 

 

suggestion..... frame this in a two photo frame. The other photo should be your daughter laughing.

 

 

cheers

The eyes have it! Stunning composition and balance capturing the essence of the soul in all its beauty. Lovely! Congratulations.

I think the black and white comp makes the intensity of her eyes pop. I think the cropped

black and white is ever better giving more balance to the composition. Overall i think the

small attention to detail make this more than just a picture of a girl.

Stunning photo. Such personality.

 

Beutiful B/W image. good job !

Very beautiful, very sharp, good light

This is a really gorgeous photograph

Love the eyes... they def make the photo.

Absolutely STUNNING... You should be very proud of this photograph & your daughter is adorable.

 

 

To be enjoyed and imitated (you know, the sincerest form of flattery.)

Interested by the image at the first sight

 

Your daughter is adorable.

 

I think this photo is technically gorgeous. I, too, wonder if the pretty, bold print of the fabric competes too much for your attention and if there shouldn't be less of it. However, it is also the fabric that drew me into the photo and I can't imagine it any other way. I also like the photo very much because it makes me ask questions on an intellectual level about the subject matter. I know this is your daughter and don't think about her this way, but the picture is extremely provocative: the pattern comes off appearing to be on her shoulder and therefore subtly coquettish, the direct gaze that does not seem to exude any innocence, but rather a Lolita-like understanding of how the world seems to work (or not work) for her based on her looks, the glossy lips, the print of the fabric comes off as mature, her hair looks like it has been set first in big rollers and then "finger-combed" the way us grown-up models do--a little bit falling in front of her eye, the static "posed" feeling as opposed to the dynamic sense of spontaneity children have even when they are still, even the title of the photo could be taken in a different context. I hope my comments don't disturb you, and I would feel more comfortable making these observations if this wasn't your daughter. Because of your relationship, it is probably difficult for you to view the photo without any feelings toward her. I find the maturity of the photo disturbing in contrast to its subject matter--mind you, this is what I like most about it artistically. If you took a photo of my daughter that was meant to be a memento of her childhood to have on the mantle and it turned out like this, I would be a little upset. Also know that I am not a prude or sexually uptight in anyway. I am merely trying to explain why this photo evokes a response from me and what sort of response that is.

I completely understand your feelings about this picture, and please don't worry that you've offended me at all; you haven't :) I appreciate the directness of your evaluations and the thoughts behind them.

 

Believe it or not, there was nothing staged about this shot. This is just how she looks. As a matter of fact, this is how she looks after she came into the house out of breath from playing with her friends in our yard. She's actually not made up at all. I was preparing my home studio setup for a family whose portrait I was taking later in the afternoon, and I asked her if she'd take a moment to sit down and help me test out the lighting and camera settings. This is just the look that she chose to give me. She sits for me on a regular basis, so she's very comfortable in front of the camera. By turns, she'll give me silly looks, sad looks, grown-up looks, and all sorts of other looks because she likes seeing how her pictures turn out. She's a photographer's daughter, and loves being a ham in front of the camera.

 

Later, when I saw the shot afterward in my post-production environment, I was overwhelmed by its similarity to the feel of old Hollywood glamour shots, so I set out to develop its look along those lines.

 

To your point about being upset about having this be the result of wanting a childhood memory photo; I think I would be upset, too, if anyone else produced a picture like this of my daughter. In her mind, though, I think it's only a matter of time before she's grown up and she's looking at cameras like this for real. Knowing my daughter, what was probably going through her mind was something like "I want to look like the pictures of movie stars I see". I think she succeeded :)

 

This is her all-time favorite picture of herself, and I actually printed a copy of it and framed it for her mom (who also loves it).

Absolutely gorgeous! perfect framing and love those eyes. great detail

I've officially been 'wowed'. Amazing composition, lighting, and perfect subject.

Just want to join the group and say for myself that 1) it was the eyes of this young lady that caught my attention first, and 2) it does in fact remind me of Hollywood Glamour pics, and 3) you are going to have to invest in a baseball bat (to answer the door holding) when your stunning daughter reaches her teens! Overall a gorgeous portrait that would have lost a great deal of its punch had it been in color. Nice, nice, nice.

Fantastic eyes. Charming look.

It's absolutely amazing!

Superb light, composition, and toning. Her expression is intense, enigmatic, and arresting. A wonderful portrait! Regards...

I really think this photo is fantastic. I love the velvet-smooth composition, the contrast and the lighting. It is rich and has great depth.

 

I would love to be able to do this quality of work one day.