Heloise.JPG

Hi

I would appreciate any comments on this image shot during my first

session with my new Nikkor AF-S 85mm f/1.4G.

Thanks

Brendan

Brendan,

Heloise is a cutie. Her eyes are nice and sharp so I'm pretty sure your new lens is functioning well. Heloise has a nice expression and has good eye contact with the camera (viewer). The background is nicely neutral and she is well separated from it.

Are you really sure you want the bottoms of her soiled feet towards the camera? You have her at an angle to the camera. Your depth of field is so narrow that parts of her are out of focus. I don't see a good reason to have any of her out of focus. An out of focus background is very nice and focuses attention on your subject. Parts of your subject out of focus will draw attention away from what is in focus. It is difficult to go wrong with having the entire subject in focus.

Her make-up and manicure look very good, but a little eyeliner under her eyes would frame them and make her eyes stand out even more.

You are getting some glare in the bottom halves of her eyes. Be careful of your catchlights. One catchlight per eye is preferred.

Avoid having the back (or palm) of the hand towards the camera. The edge (side) of the hand towards the camera is thinning, feminine and graceful. The little finger towards the camera with the fingers cascading rather than side by side is preferred.

Your crop on the bottom is very close to her right hand. Give her a little more room.

I know you want to bring out that pretty orangey red hair, but be careful of her skin tone. It is picking up some of that orange.

Nice shot,

Mark

Hi Mark

Thanks for taking the time for such a thorough response.   It is appreciated.  Regarding the very shallow depth of field, it is exactl what I wanted to achieve because a significant reason for the shoot was that I wanted to test my new lens - the Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 AF-S G - wide open.  Hence the shallow DOF.

My studio lights also don't go low enough on the power side to be able to use f/1.4 and for this shot I went with window light.

Now that I am starting to see what the lens can do I can also revert to using greater DOF as well (as I did in other parts of the shoot).  Yes, the under side of her feet do look a little dark, but I can assure you that tehy weren't dirty in reality.

Regards

Brendan