mark_sheppard3

Really nice shot. All of the curves are very feminine. I think she could even exaggerate that some and make the pose even better by shooting her hip out more and bringing her left shoulder forward quite a bit. I'd also clone out the weed in the dark area on the lower left corner.

Great playful expression.

Great shot but her hands are strange and slightly distracting.

A bit hot through her face, hair and the green on the right edge.

This looks like you hit the rule of thirds right on her right eye and the hair that's cropped out doesn't matter, we all know what it looks like. You have a beautiful model, her expression is nice, pleasant colors, well done!

The main criticism I have for this image is that the model looks unsettled and therefore a bit awkward and her expression is totally out to lunch. I definitely think the shot has potential and you should definitely try it again, but I do think that this one is a miss. Not bad, just not compelling.

I think that's a pretty common thing. Most all of the retouchers that I follow seem to agree that they either process an image, leave it for a while then come back for final processing to let their eyes adjust or they process their images and then pull them back 10 - 30% to avoid over doing it. I like this series and you have a beautiful model but the light and shadow on her hair seem inconsistent. I think it may be exaggerated due o the other colors in the image being much less saturated. The highlights in her hair by her left hand and on the right side of her face are completely blown out and there's no detail left at all. It also looks like you're using a warming filter in a gradient from upper left to lower right and it's causing the skin on her face to be very yellow while her right hand is still quite pink. Are you starting with a RAW file or a JPG?

Thanks for looking

Great work as always Ruud.

This is beautiful work Chuck. I love the 50's feel to this and would be very interested to know the process that you used to achieve it.

Interesting thought Dave. I cropped it as you suggested and I do think it makes it a bit more intimate. Great tip.

Thanks for your ratings,comments, critiques and ideas on how to improve.

This is a great shot Jay. Very nicely captured.

The original definitely clears up what you did.  I'm guessing that you warmed up the white balance, opened up the shadows, brought down the highlights and lowered the exposure of the sky as well as some increased contrast on the clouds and maybe some sharpening which probably caused the artifacts in the blue. I really like what you have done, just think that you went a touch too far with the adjustments. Have you tried shooting in RAW?  From experience I can tell you that a RAW file will tolerate far more adjustment than a JPG as well as having a lot more actual data to work with.  Shooting in JPG and then processing it is actually double processing since the JPG version is just a RAW file that was processed in the camera according to the camera manufacturers algorithm.

Very nice shot.

I really like the composition but it looks over-processed to me.  Especially in the blue part of the sky, I can see processing noise and artifacts.  

Hi Maria, This looks like it had the potential to be a nice shot but you totally missed focus. After looking through your portfolio it seems like you have a good eye and from your other shots it's clear that you have a beautiful subject. I think the only thing that you lack is a clear understanding of how to get your camera to consistently capture what your eye sees. The good news is that is an easy fix. It's clear that you are shooting in some type of auto mode which generally ends up producing mixed results. Start reading up on the exposure triangle so that you can begin to take control of your exposure a step at a time. I would advise you to set your focus to single point, AF-S or the Canon equivalent. This way you choose what is in focus, not the camera and the shutter won't release until you have focus lock. In this photo the camera locked on the bushes and left you with a sharp background and a blurry girl when the opposite would have been far more attractive. If I can do anything to help, feel free to drop me a message and I look forward to following you on your photographic journey. Good luck.