Marianne

Greg,

Marianne is a pretty girl. You have focused well on her eyes. She has good eye contact with the camera (viewer). Her catch lights are very good. The background is nicely out of focus. The brown tones work very well together. Because of the colors working so well with the rest of the picture, the busy top doesn't really draw my attention away from her face. Your composition is excellent. The contrast and color saturation is very good. She has a nice smile and the specular highlights on her lips are very good. You have done a very good job of burning in the edges of the image to help keep the viewer's eyes within the photograph,

Your lighting is very good, but be careful of the left (her left) corner of her mouth. Because of her smile she is picking up some of the main light in the shadow by her mouth. This not only draws attention to that small area of her face, but makes her smile look a little lopsided.

You want to make sure that large clunky looking necklace is centered on her chest. It is a little off center.

You should retouch the skin imperfections on her chest (her lower left). Her make-up looks very good, but a little eyeliner under her eyes would make them stand out even more.

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, more feminine and more graceful if turned at an angle to the camera. The lines you see from an angle have more apparent motion, interest and grace.

I'm not sure having her hair blown that little bit adds anything to the portrait.

Your advertising (GSPhotography) is not part of the photograph. Your name, and date if you wished, could be properly displayed on the mat. Advertising would be better placed on the back of the photograph.

Nice shot,

Mark

Hi Mark.

Thank you for taking the time to give me such comprehensive and constructive crit. It is much appreciated.