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Beautiful light with a very nice composition.

The red skirt on the green meadow is so pleasing to the senses it brings the meadow to life!!

lovely... quite lovely... the greens of the field, the colors of her dress, the look on her face... all make for an extremely lovely image... good show!

Thanks Saleem, Victor and Kraig.

Theo,

She is indeed a pretty girl. I love her coy little smile. Her expression may indicate a bit of frustration or annoyance, also. Hands on the hips usually indicates being upset or exasperated about something. She's too cute to be very mad, though. The lighting coming from behind her helps to separate her from the background. I like the subtle rim lighting. Her skin tone, color saturation and contrast are good. I wouldn't mind a slightly lighter face, but it really looks quite good. You wouldn't want the sky much lighter. A little more saturation might give it a bit more "pop", but this does have a nice feel to it.

Notice how people keep commenting on how pretty her skirt is. That is because you are using what used to be called "a spot of color." Maybe is still is? When one thing is colored differently than anything else it draws the viewer's attention -- especially red. Unfortunately, in a portrait you usually want attention to go to your subject -- usually her face, not her skirt. It is a pretty skirt. Too bad this is a portrait and not a fashion shot of the skirt.

For a portrait it is usually better to have more room in front of your subject than behind her. This allows her to be facing into the picture rather than out of it. You can get away with using the "rule" of thirds for positioning your subject's head in the frame, if there is a reason to use it. There really isn't anything on the opposite side of the frame to balance the composition. She is just placed out to the side for no apparent reason. Therefore, your left and right compositional balance is quite right heavy.

Nice shot,

Mark

I have 12 years of art school and absolutely no formal photographic education. But I believe that I have an innate sense of what's in the right place, what's color-balanced properly and in general what make's a good photo. This is a good photo. The red skirt is surrounded by some darker greens in the grass and they serve to anchor the subject. At the same time, her posture and expression seem to say "hurry up and shoot or I'm out of here." Her position to the right side of the frame reinforces this - it's an easy exit. We now have a complex story. The DOF and tonality throughout create art. All of this helps to make this art and not a point-and-shoot photo. In fact the combination of a great landscape and a lovely portrait is brilliant in and of itself. The only area for any improvement that I can see is the sky and Mother Nature did that. I wouldn't use artificial means to alter it.

Great job!

Cheers ~

Alberta

agreed Alberta...the position of this young woman is perfect...we need to not be too concerned about rules...break them when it conveys your intent...

Thanks a lot for the comments!

the viewer feels the moment, feels what you must have felt framing the playful teasing dance, a delightful old world charm rarely seen nowadays. Your model’ a beauty sans artifice and you do her well placing her right of frame showcasing the field of dreams with tact and delicacy without overpowering the main star. Her hands in hips downward glace and knowing smile, challenging and feigning irritation, make for delightful theater. I wouldn’t suggest the slightest alteration here --- it’s a lovely aesthetic as is --- a picture with narrative and soul.