Portrait 2075

This is not a portrait to emphasize the feminine beauty of the subject. It is rather an

image to depict the beauty of the healthy, fun-loving character of the subject.

Thanks for your visits and comments!

Unique expression. Sharp, good BG and very effective lighting. Well done. Regards, ifti.

No need to explain what you were capturing--it is quite obvious and well done!  I think this is what portraiture is all about: capturing the personality of the individual, and you did it with this one...she seems like a really fun person with a great sense of humor.  Nice job!

Perfect. I like the expression, great moment and presentation.

Brad,

She is a pretty girl. You have focused well on her eyes. The composition is quite good. The background is nicely out of focus and she is well separated from it. I love the Minny Mouse bow in her hair.

She does look like she has a good sense of humor and healthy skin. Good portraiture is the art by which the photographer allows both the inner and outer beauty of the subject to be observed. It is sometimes more easily observed with a little well applied make-up.

This doesn't distract from the girl, but it does appear she may have "lazy eye" -- a condition where one eye doesn't always look in the same direction as the other. This isn't a bad thing, but I thought I would point it out.

I think you need more contrast so that the whites are whiter and the blacks are blacker. Notice how the whites of her eyes appear quite gray.

You don't want her to tilt her head back. You are looking up her nose.

She has reflections in her eyes, but more pronounced catch lights would give more life to her eyes.

Notice the neckline of her top. The viewer's eyes will go to the “V”, or in this case "U", formed by the sides of the neckline and follow it down and out of the photograph because there is nothing there to stop them. You should try to crop below where the “U” of the neckline comes together so that the viewer's eyes have a place to stop.

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.

Nice shot,

Mark

Correct me if i am wrong but you don't get your 'subjects' to pose they are 'suprise' photos? I love this approch, only this way do you get to see people in their true light.

Hence why i wasn't sure why the last guy was saying about getting your subjects to pose like this or stand like this. you capture them as they are, and in this case one of the prettiest girls i have ever seen.

Philip, I have to agree with you about candid "street" shots...in this one I don't think the idea was to "pose" the subject.  Having said that, I also have to add that I really appreciate reading the detailed critique of the previous poster--even though we may not agree 100% with the analysis it certainly gives some great, specific food for thought.  As a new photographer--and even though it is not my image--I get a lot more out of these detailed critiques than the more typical, simple "great shot, congrats!".   So...BTW, great shot, congrats!  (I can get away with that due to my relative newbie status!  ; )

DanJ 

You are right about giving advice, it is normally very helpful.

I am still not too sure if she is 'posing' for the camera in this shot though, normally a girl of 14-17 can't hold such a unique natural pose, or at least its rare. When you look at his other photos too the majority look candid snaps when they weren't expecting:

http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=9112919

http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=11300087

http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=11311241

I think what go my back up was mentioning the girls 'lazy eye'. Its just not needed. She is a really pretty young girl and has probably been conscience of it all her life and to have a stranger point it out on a public photo, i am guessing, is not what she would want. Her teeth aren't straight, her left eye brow seems a little darker than her right, maybe she has one leg is shorter than the other and she has bad breath but i just don't see why people would talk about this on a photography site.