She is a lady

-

Love it the only thing I have to say is the lighting is a little to strong on the left side of the photo perhaps targeting the light behind her would add the lift to contrast to her hair and the background otherwise excellent piece.

Dmitry,

 

You have focused very well on her eyes. The background is nicely neutral. The composition for a head and shoulders portrait is excellent.

 

You should retouch the reflection on her right eyeglass lens. It shows on the whites of her eyes and goes onto her iris. You have really done a very good job of keeping reflections from her glasses from showing.

 

Her make-up looks quite good. She does need mascara on her bottom eyelashes and eyeliner under her eyes to put more emphasis on her eyes. Her lips look a little dry. Blush would help define her facial bone structure.

 

I am afraid she is not communicating anything with her expression. It is very blank looking. She is showing no emotion at all.

 

Be careful of your background. It has some shadows or broad lines in it that draw attention away from your subject's face. It should be smooth. If you are going to darken the edges a bit to help keep the viewer's eyes within the photograph, it should be done very gradually from the inside to the outside and very smoothly. The background to her right, by her neck, is too bright compared to the rest of the background.

 

Notice the neckline of her top. The viewer's eyes will go to the “V” of the neckline and follow it down and out of the photograph because there is nothing there to stop it. You should try to crop below where the "V" of the neckline comes together so that the viewer's eyes have a place to stop. You always want to try to keep the viewer's eyes within the photograph.

 

For a dressed-up, business looking portrait, her shirt looks rather wrinkled. It just doesn't go with the rest of the look.

 

If not making eye contact with the camera (viewer), the eyes should follow the line of the nose. It is natural to look where your head is pointing. If looking off to the side you should show what she is looking at or provide a reason that she is not looking where her head is pointing.

 

It is best to have at least some of the whites of her eyes showing on each side of her irises. If you have her looking out of the corners of her eyes it looks awkward and unnatural. It is usual for a person to turn their head, at least somewhat, in the direction they are looking. This is done so that not too much strain is put on the eye muscles.

 

She has no catch lights. One catch light per eye is preferred. The ideal location for the catch lights would be at about the 10 or 2 o'clock position on her irises. To achieve this you want the main light to come from above, in front and to her side. Her lighting is flat. Judicious use of shadows on her face can help create interest and the illusion of depth within your photograph.

 

Her pupils are quite dilated. If you use brighter modeling lights, or have a brighter area to shoot her in, her eyes will not become so dilated.

 

You don't want to remove all detail and texture from her skin. The key to retouching is to be subtle. You want to retouch as little as possible. You never want your subject to look unnatural.

 

Your name is not part of the photograph. An appropriate location for your name would be directly below where you have it and on the mat.

 

Nice shot,

 

Mark