Untitled

William,

She is has great talent for posing. I was just clicking.

we'll see

worked out better

I like your second version. It is a bit odd but also charming at the same time.

Andrew,

Klaudia is a beautiful girl with wonderfully shaped legs. She looks very petite. You have focused well. Her make-up is very well done. Her skin tone is excellent. The contrast and color saturation looks very good.

The lighting looks a bit flat. It might have been better to have your main light coming from above and towards her from the right side of the picture. This would have produced some shadows to help give the illusion of depth within your photograph.

The burning in around her seems a bit obvious. You want it to be subtle. It would be good to use a back or hair light to better separate her hair from the background.

I am assuming, because of your title, that this was meant to be more of a fashion or product shot to show off the Chanel bag, than a portrait of Klaudia. The bag really doesn’t seem to be the center of attention. Much of it is in shadow so you are not really showing it as the subject of the photograph. If this is a portrait of Klaudia, I would have used the bag in a meaningful way or I wouldn’t have included the bag at all. Everything that is in a portrait should be there for a reason and should help tell the story of the subject. You should ask yourself if the subject is relating to, and reacting to the background or setting and any props in a meaningful and natural manner. Because this is in the portrait category, I will critique it as a portrait.

The shoes bother me for two reasons. The red color draws attention away from Klaudia’s face. I also wouldn’t expect a girl to have her feet up on furniture with her shoes on.

She is actually leaning on her right hand. Her elbow is locked and her shoulder is sticking up in the air. The appearance of leaning on her hand should be done for looks and balance only.

Her right hand is sunk down into the material with only parts of her fingers showing. This looks a bit odd. She also has a hot spot on her right shoulder that should be toned down.

It bothers me a bit that the trim on her dress is silver and (not counting those shoes) everything else is warm tones. My attention is draw to the silver trim.

Her head looks like it is turned at a slightly awkward angle. It would look better straightened out.

Avoid having the back of the hand towards the camera. The edge (side) of the hand towards the camera is thinning, feminine and graceful.

Her pose would look better if one of her legs was at least somewhat straightened out. Most poses will look better if your subject’s feet or knees are not directly across from each other.

I think that if you crop out the wood under her and give her a little more head room you will find the composition will look better. Of course, if she extends her leg, you will have to extend the right side, accordingly.

Nice shot,

Mark

Mark,

Thanks a lot for your critique. I learn more from you that I could ever learn from any book.

Image is flat because my lights were about 15 feet away.

Thanks again.