single photos Untitled

Wiktor,

She is a pretty girl. You have focused well on her eyes. She has good eye contact with the camera (viewer) and a somewhat sultry expression. The catch lights do give life to her eyes. The background is nicely out of focus. The lighting provides some nice shadows on her face and body to help create the illusion of depth within your photograph. You have good detail in your whites and blacks. The composition is very good. The curve of her right hip moving from the bottom of the frame up to her body is very graceful. Her make-up looks well applied.

Her skin and hair look a little a bit too contrasty for my liking. I would like to see a tad more detail in the highlights. They just look too harsh.

With her clothing and "model like" pose I would have chosen a different background to place her in. One reason to include a background in a portrait is to establish a relationship between the subject and the background. It adds a more meaningful pictorial expression of the subject. It makes the picture more complete -- it tells a story. You may try to imply something about the person’s character or nature, or perhaps, their occupation or hobby. Everything in the picture should coordinate with everything else. Everything that is in the portrait is 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 in a meaningful and natural manner. People look more relaxed and comfortable in a location that has some sort of meaning for them. They just seem less posed and out of place.

You appear to have used a long enough lens so as not have a problem with foreshortening, but having her elbow stick out in front of her, toward the viewer, is quite awkward looking. I would move her left elbow more in toward her body.

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. It usually looks best to angle your subject somewhere around 45 degrees.

Your name is not part of the photograph. It would be better placed on the mat.

Nice shot,

Mark