girl posing in dunes

Pretty. Nice use of fill flash.

Excellent use of flash. Nice subtle colors and intrigueing model. I like this.

Again, I love the flattened background you got in this shoot. Terrific.

I love the background and the expression, as well as the light overall. But the corner bottom right has 2 weaknesses imo.

1) Why does the sleeve end with red ? Is that the way the dress actually looks like ?

2) The light in this corner is brighter and colder than elsewhere, and there is nothing much to see there. So, I'd suggest to warm up this area a bit, and to darken it. Then the sole brightest area in the shot will be the dress, and the emphasis would then be really at the right place.

Once this will be touched-up, I think this will really be an excellent picture. Regards.

Did Annie Leibowitz take this shot? It's a very nice image, in many respects (saturation, composition, setting, etc.), but the tight cropping on the bottom is a pity--it really takes attention away from the woman's face.

This is just wonderful....very good.

Verna

*THIS* is GORGEOUS! Oh My! Im loving this image. The outfit is beautiful and the sky - LIKE A PAINTING! I even find her hand to be perfect!

Im so sick of the uncreative nudes photos all over this site trying to be artisitc just because the model is nake. This is true art. Im gushing.

This is an excellent image IMHO. I would like to see just a bit of space between the models fingertips and the bottom of the frame. Her expression and the lighting are very good. I would also remove the garment sticking up through the bottom of the frame. This is very good.

I also think, "This is an excellent image IMHO. I would like to see just a bit of space between the models fingertips and the bottom of the frame".

I love the background, use of flash and the choice of glossy clothing. Very original. However, the wide-angle 50mm lens has blown the fingers out of proportion with the rest of the body and the right lower corner is a bit too bright - steals the scene away from the sunset and the model. I also love the square format and how it's been filled up. Would have been excellent to see the rest of the shoes, though.

Great shot, but that hand looks scary!

Try to edit that out.

This is nice. It reminds me of a re-posed, re-located version of Andrew Wyeth's Christina's World. But I have two issues:

 

1. Although others apparently love the flash, I think it is heavy-handed. There's no doubt here about whether you used a flash -- sometimes that's cool, but it detracts from what is otherwise a generally naturalistic image.

 

2. Her hand has collected too much blood and turned the shade of her sleeve. It doesn't match her face and looks weird. Perhaps she could have shaken her hand around up in the air a few times before each shot. (Sounds silly, I know, but it might have helped.)

Beautiful colours and mood. The clothes are nice, too. :)

Beautiful shot, but that hand is bad.Congrad.

I was immediately struck by the gaze of this beautiful young woman, the ethereal sky surrounding her head, the rich costume, the extreme contrast between the upper left and the bottom right halves of the shot. I knew there was more to this photo than mere modeling, but I could not put my finger on it. I came back to it several times before I unraveled it: She is none other than Cio-Cio San, of Madam Butterfly. For those who are unfamiliar with Puccini's opera, "Butterfly" is a Japanese virgin, taken in marriage by one B. F. Pinkerton, an American naval officer, during a brief stay in Nagasaki. He abandons her, vowing to return in the Spring. The most emblematic piece of music from the opera is "Un bel di vedremo" (Some day he’ll come), a good title for this photo. The axis of the photo is her right hand, clutching her abdomen, the locus of her emotion. (Also, she is pregnant with Pinkerton's child.) Her head is in Heaven; for three years she waits for him, full of faith and trust. The hand on Earth literally "grounds" her. The blood red sleeve belies her fate. Had the foot remained completely in the shot, it would have been all about the clothes. Remove the hand and you have a pretty model, pretty clothes and a dramatic frame. This beautiful, heroic young woman is waiting in vain, with one foot (and hand) in the grave. For a synopsis of the opera see www.musicwithease.com/puccini-butterfly-synopsis.html. iTunes has an excellent version of Un bel di vedremo, interpreted by Kiri Te Kanawa. Listen and this photo will come alive.

I enjoyed the comments almost as much as the image. The 4 on originality is one harsh rating! (Most of us beach combers never stumble upon anything so colorful and intensely dramatic while shell hunting at dusk.) More of the lovely Italian shoes and paleness to the hands are a must. Would definitely enjoy seeing more work with this model, whose wonderful chin bespeaks character only an opera could develop.