Camila B&W Portrait

[Javier]

[Manfred M]

It is a lovely portrait, but has some serious problems.

1. The area above your model's head and the gaps between the railing are super bright. The human visual system goes to extremely bright or high contrast areas, so we see those parts of the image rather than your subject;

2. You are using the "rule of thirds" and have your models eyes sitting on one of those lines. That rule does not work for this image,

3. The nose cuts the cheekbone, so the eye behind the nose looks strange. This is one of those rules of portraiture that usually applies.

[royent]

I would agree with Manfred, I also have a dislike for amputation
Roy

[pnodrog]

I would agree with Manfred, I also have a dislike for amputation
Roy

You poms are so squeamish. She wouldn't have felt a thing.

Signed colonial stirrer...

[Manfred M]

I would agree with Manfred, I also have a dislike for amputation
Roy

Agreed and good catch - I missed mentioning that one.

[DanK]

I agree with Manfred's comments, but I disagree about one point: amputations. In general, they often don't work, but rules shouldn't be ironclad. If it was occasionally good enough for Renior (e.g., https://www.wikiart.org/en/pierre-au...madame-henriot), it's good enough for me. In this case, the amputation didn't bother me much because its in an out-of-focus, bacground area.

[Manfred M]

I agree with Manfred's comments, but I disagree about one point: amputations. In general, they often don't work, but rules shouldn't be ironclad. If it was occasionally good enough for Renior (e.g., https://www.wikiart.org/en/pierre-au...madame-henriot), it's good enough for me. In this case, the amputation didn't bother me much because its in an out-of-focus, bacground area.

Carefully said, amputations do work, but the general rule is that they should be applied above the joint, which usually minimizes their impact. Cutting through the joint(s) or just above the joint does draw attention to the area.

You are quite right, Dan. If the amputation that breaks that rule is done in a way that one does not notice, one can get away with it.