Kendra

Comments Welcome

Thanks for your time

A very compelling portrait.  I get the feeling she's about to speak to me...  Mike

A beautiful image, but a little dark (the garments have lost detail and texture) and the white balance seems off.  In my upload I modified the tonal curve, and established white balance by the white of her eye.

Jerry

A very nice portrait of a beautiful model! Interesting expression and lovely eyes. I agree with Jerry that there's a problem with the white balance, though. Best regards, Alain

Christopher,

Kendra is a very pretty girl. I love her beautiful blue eyes. You have focused well on her eyes. I usually prefer a single dominant circle, but her catchlights work well. Her left and right compositional balance is very good. I really like the light coming from behind her to create the nice halo effect on her hair. It helps to separate her from the background.

She has very good eye contact with the camera (viewer), but Kendra's expression seems to be one of surprise and apprehension. I'm not too sure what to make of it. It is not unpleasant, but I'm not sure if she would answer the door, if someone knocked.

The background is too bright. It draws attention away from Kendra. A more subdued background would allow Kendra to be the center of attention. The tree trunk on the right (her left) just seems out of place. It doesn't go with anything in the photograph. Those may be out of focus leaves behind her, but even if they are, they appear as just a yellow/green florescent glow. The woodsy tree trunk just doesn't fit in.

I think Kendra's eyeshadow is too dark. It might work better if Kendra was dressed in an evening gown and if she was in a different location. The dark eyeshadow looks more appropriate for evening. A little more eyeliner under her eyes would frame them better and help them to stand out even more.

She looks like she may have Cyanosis. Her skin tone -- particularly her lips and under her eyes is blue. I am assuming the top under her jacket is white and not blue. Even the ends of her hair are blue. I'm not saying they really aren't blue, which I think would be quite nice, but they fade right into her jacket. Her jacket could use a bit more detail in it, too. I think the photograph could be a little lighter. The red, puffiness, and dark circles under her eyes should be removed.

To balance the top and bottom of your photograph, you need to crop quite a bit off the bottom. It is good that you have cropped below where the sides of her jacket come together. That gives the viewer's eyes a place to stop before being drawn down and out of the photograph, but there is just too much of her on the bottom. You need to crop much higher. I cropped just below the neckline of her white top under the jacket. It still gives the viewer's eyes a place to stop. In reality, the photograph would have been balanced better if I would have cropped even higher. The balance would be better, but the viewer's eyes would be drawn out of the image. I guess you just have to pick which you think is better (less worse).

Do not pose your subject straight on to the camera. This is not a very feminine pose. Showing your subject’s widest areas (shoulder to shoulder or hip to hip) makes those areas appear wide. Your subject will appear thinner and more feminine, graceful and elegant if turned at an angle to the camera. The lines you see from an angle have more apparent motion, interest and grace. You usually do not want to have your subject turned 90 degrees to the camera. This can make the head look unsupported. As a rule it looks best to angle your subject somewhere around 45 degrees.

You have your name (twice) and the date on the photograph. It is not part of the photograph and it draws attention away from Kendra. Your name and the date could be appropriately placed on a mat surrounding the photograph.

Nice shot,

Mark

Thanks everyone for your input I do appreciate it.

Chris

Nice portrait, especially the eyes.

Beautiful girl and beautiful job portraying her.  Quite an education on portraits, after  reading Marks comments

A beautiful shot, a perfect work. Bravo!