Onute

Although i find this image to be almost as i wanted it to be, but i can't get

rid of the "feel" like something is not yet up to the standard (somehow to

me it looks like its due to colours). I tried o get rid of the magenta cast on

the skin tones, does it look too greenish now? Or maybe I left it absolutely

lifeless???

Paulius,

She is a very pretty girl. You have focused well on her eye. The catchlight looks good -- perhaps a bit tiny and centered -- like it is from a built-in camera flash, but it still looks pretty good. Her skin tone is very nice. The lighting is good. I like the eye contact she has with the camera (viewer) and her expression is pleasant. The background is nicely out of focus and she is well separated from it. Her make-up looks good, but a little eyeliner under her eye would help make her eye stand out even better. I love her hooded coat. It makes her appear a bit mysterious.

I'm not real sure I like her left eye covered. I think she would look better with it showing -- or at least most of it showing. Of course, thats just a personal opinion. As far as I know there is not a compositional or photographic "rule" covering this.

Her left hand is just too pronounced -- stuck out there -- too large -- drawing too much attention to itself -- taking attention away from her face. If you turned her hand with its side (edge) toward the camera instead of the top of her hand toward the camera it would appear thinner, more feminine, graceful and elegant. Her right hand looks very nice. I do wish we could see where it is connected to the rest of her arm, so that it wasn't just poking up from the bottom of the frame, but it is acceptable looking.

Cropping into her head implies a tight crop on the bottom. You could crop the bottom or give her some head room. I would give her some headroom. This could easily be shot as a vertical format instead of the horizontal format. That really wouldn't be a bad idea.

The picture is also left heavy. You want to compositionally balance the left and right sides of the photograph. The compositional "rule" for this suggests that you position the tip of the subject's nose in the vertical center of the photograph. If you crop the right side you not only would get better left and right compositional balance, you could get rid of her right hand. I think it would look better. See attachment.

Nice shot,

Mark

Thank you very much, i actually didn't even think about the arm, nice of you to point it out. There is still quite a lot to learn. 

Good to hear that the skin tones worked out. I must say that she does not wear any make up (only very slight PP on the skin). 

I really like the crop. A pity I won't be able to repeat the photoshoot with her, but now i know which mistakes i should avoid. 

In reading Mark's comments and looking at his suggested crop, I came to realize that when it is in the original the hands, as a pair, work well together, but when it is cropped so that one hand shows it stands out as being objectionable.  I would suggest that if you had taken a vertical image instead of a horizontal one and moved back so as to include a tiny bit more background, you would be showing the top of her head and have a full portrait instead of a facial portrait and the hands would blend in even better.  Think of the head and hands as forming a kind of pyramid shape and that shape is partly repeated in the brickwork behind to give it emphasis.

The tiny highlight in the eye can easily be enlarged with the tiny pencil point of a retouching tool in whatever software you use.  I think that the white elements of the blouse might stand out too brightly - they could easily be retouched to match the black of the rest.

 As far as one eye or two, that is up to you the photographer.  In such situations you might take it both ways and compare.  I do that all the time.  Just throw away the one you least like.

 You mention that there is so much to learn.  Yes, that is true but it is a joy all the way along.  I have been taking pictures now for almost 60 years and I learn something new all the time.

Regards,

Jerry

mmmmmmmmmm... I like it just as it is, the soft focus brick gives us a great sense of place. Love the sardonic smile and direct gaze too I do. Well Done! If I did anything to this image I would flip it horizontally as the right side of an image is the 'stronger' side. We read not only text but photos also, left to right.
-r-

I agree with the previous comment , the triangular composition works well , it's just a matter of framing . More space to the left , would , as Raymond said , make it read better . Bill

to all for the critique. I can see now where  i must pay attention and what else has to be done