joe_garrick

The two of you could make careers out of photographing each other - and it's yet another keeper here. I actually like the light on the cheek - it improves the candid feel of the photo.

It's a captivating expression you've captured. Very nice.

Bingo! My eyes go right to hers now. Nicely done.

A little dusty...

Correct - I have no editing software - all I get is whatever comes off the scanner from cheap photomat prints, so I can't even clean up dust.

Ah yes! A wonderful expression captured on film. The look of surprise, or is it possibly fear, on the face of the subject is quite remarkable, along with the tip of the hat.

 

Sorry - I couldn't help myself. This was the best laugh I've had all day.

"difficult" angle?

Well, it's posed so if it's difficult it's the shooters own problem to fix. I tend to agree about the knee - although I like the pose it's perhaps just a little too much knee in front. Also, the lock of hair traveling over her ear and landing on her neck seems like an accident. I don't know where else you'd put it other than back in with the rest of her hair. It might work coming down in front of the ear, but I think it might seem too long there. It's hard to say - I'd have to see it that way to be sure.

A good photo in any case.

I assume the melancholy expression was intentional, but I agree about the green cast. Additionally, the posture seems overly slumped but I suppose that goes with the expression. The near arm being cut off at the wrist is bothersome. The lighting is good. The expression is good if melancholy was the intent.

I thought the interaction between them was nice. What do you think - scrapbook or scrap heap?

Jon, you can never have too much practice...

This is true for all of us. :) I like this shot, the revealed tatoo is charming and the expression is a definite winner, but I'll point out the obvious defects anyway. First, the background - I know it's a quick candid, but still there's half a head on the left and something or other growing out of her head on the right, plus you didn't quite get the entire glass into the shot. Still, as a candid the expression would probably be gone before you could fix all of these issues, and a little darkroom work could minimize them. Another issue is that all the detail is gone on the veil. Finally, although her eyes are in sharp focus, the tatoo isn't, which is unfortunate since it is a focal point.

I hope I don't sound like I'm nitpicking too much, because I do think it's a keeper as a wedding candid. If this were from my wedding, I'd definitely want a copy. That said, if a similar opportunity should ever present itself, you have a few more things to think about, as if there weren't enough already. :)

I'm really undecided on this one. As I wander around in the photo, my eyes inevitably land on a trunk, follow it to the bottom, and abruptly hit the edge with nowhere to go. It's a bit disconcerting, but still interesting.

I tend to agree with the previous comment. Although I like the lines of the shoulders at the bottom in this composition, the background is enormously distracting and relatively easily removed by doing a tight crop on the face - a face that I find very interesting.

The image quality is amazingly good considering the method used to get it here. I like the composition, although perhaps I could have done without the two boats or whatever on the horizon on the right.

I don't know why, but I find the skater's pose to be hilarious. Great capture.

William - Have mercy on my cheap scans. :) In the original print, the eyes are in fact tack sharp, but I shot with the lens basically wide open for bare minimum DOF. See the tech details about the background.

Your basic head shot. Have at it.

In defense of the fly-by raters, if you surf the random uploads, you'll see the photo with a comment box and the ratings controls, but not the tech details or associated comments. The photo title is visible, but it's not prominent and is quite easy to overlook. Many of the raters may have come by the photo that way.

 

As for the photo, I'll say only that I'm glad you posted it and the story.

The pose is OK, and I like the big smile, but what's the knee doing in there?

You can count me as another victim of your technique - had I not read the commentary I would have assumed that this was a photo of a girl in her late teens.

 

Aside from the "anti-aging" technique, it's also a very good portrait. You've captured a nicely contemplative look. Kudos to both of you.

I tend to agree with Mauricio-José Schwarz about the crop, or at least I think it would be interesting to see it that way for comparison. I'm not sure about the post production treatment - my instinctive reaction is that it's yet another gimmick applied to what would be a good photo without it, but it does seem to work here.

Quintessential New England. I do think the adjusted version is an improvement.

Can't claim too much originality...

I've always thought that originality in portraiture is overrated - it's all about expression. Done well, the shot reveals the personality of the subject, not that of the photographer. By that standard, this is highly "original" because it seems to tell me a lot about them.

My only complaint is that they don't seem to be looking in the same direction - he seems to be looking a bit to his right of the camera. Still a good portrait.

OK, so technically speaking it's - shall we say - somewhat lacking, but that's got to be about the funniest thing I've seen all day.

Trouble with a capital T. Great shot.

Regarding the fill flash, the grin is so big her eyes aren't much more than slits. You'd need an awful lot of fill to see decent catchlights.

 

A decent shot in any case.

are you just trying to amass a large number of veiws

Well, I think that's the entire point of posting it for critique - get more views and hopefully more comments.

Back to the photo... I have to agree about having space for them to run into, but I don't think a more horizontal crop does much to improve it. It feels more normal that way, but you lose the curves of the track.

Even without the space in front of the runners, it's a good photo.