Smile C&C Welcome

[fotugraphy]

Hi, going forward on my photography venture I stopped and clicked another shot. Can you please review it and let me know what exactly is missing for it to make it much better?

It was clicked in Ladakh, India in Turtuk Village.

Please provide your views and suggestion with composition, frame, crops.

Thank You

PS : Please click on the image for lightbox screen view (Highly recommended)

[Dave Humphries]

For me Raj,

Her smile is competing with the flowers - and losing, because they are much brighter and more numerous.

In that location, I would suggest to the model that she might like to sniff one of the blooms and then I'd frame up so that just that one bloom was in the shot with her head filling the rest of the frame.

However, context is everything and if you told a story along the lines that she'd grown these herself and they had won some award and this was a shot for a newspaper or (these days) blog, I'd have not made my suggestion.

Do you see what I mean? - it all depends upon your intent for the image - what you want the viewer to know.


With the precise arrangement of subject and blooms here, no simple crop will help I'm afraid.

Hope that is helpful, Dave

[Geoff F]

Continuing from Dave's suggestions. The left side flower is well focused but those closest to her face are getting soft which tends to make the far left flower too dominant.

Maybe if the flowers were equally sharp this scene would work better for me.

However, working with what we have now, I wonder about actually cropping out that left side flower and going to a square image so the slightly soft focus flowers become less dominant?

One very small point. In the top right corner there is a little blob of bright yellow which I find slightly distracting.

However, as an actual portrait, I think you have photographed her face well.

[Shadowman]

The composition works for me if you consider her a delicate flower as well, nice concept. I am drawn to her for her smile and crinkly eyes, the yellow of her scarf meshes well with the colors of the flowers.

[rpcrowe]

I wonder about a crop like this...

[William W]

The half / half composition works well. Timing of the shutter is good and the connection and rapport is evident.

Very suitable Available light: good shot.

Apropos critique for improvement:

> concerning the Composition, clipping her scarf at camera right is annoying

> concerning Subject Matter, (as Dave mentioned) there is too much competition between the flowers and her face, but it occurs to me that is only ONE flower which is bothersome and that can be (with a bit of work) cloned out.

> concerning the lighting, it is very good: subtle, young and feminine, but the eyes are lacking; this also can be enhanced in Post Production.

Here is ROUGH (10 minute) edit. This is only to provide a visual example of meaning.

(NOTE - if you follow this Post Production route then much more detailed work is required in the Rebuilding and Cloning of the Subject Matter. It is much easier to get that correct, in the camera.)

The original is on the top:



(If you want to download the A/B for your reference, then do so soon as I clear that server regularly).

WW

[Rainforest]

I like the way the three flowers flow to her face - perhaps blurring the sharp one would give it less pull? You have a wealth of good ideas here to think about. It's hard to take your eyes off that dazzling smile and eyes. I can't stop smiling. You made my morning.

[fotugraphy]

For me Raj,

Her smile is competing with the flowers - and losing, because they are much brighter and more numerous.

In that location, I would suggest to the model that she might like to sniff one of the blooms and then I'd frame up so that just that one bloom was in the shot with her head filling the rest of the frame.

However, context is everything and if you told a story along the lines that she'd grown these herself and they had won some award and this was a shot for a newspaper or (these days) blog, I'd have not made my suggestion.

Do you see what I mean? - it all depends upon your intent for the image - what you want the viewer to know.


With the precise arrangement of subject and blooms here, no simple crop will help I'm afraid.

Hope that is helpful, Dave

Thanks a lot for your kind review and suggestions

[fotugraphy]

The composition works for me if you consider her a delicate flower as well, nice concept. I am drawn to her for her smile and crinkly eyes, the yellow of her scarf meshes well with the colors of the flowers.

Thanks a lot for your kind words

[fotugraphy]

Continuing from Dave's suggestions. The left side flower is well focused but those closest to her face are getting soft which tends to make the far left flower too dominant.

Maybe if the flowers were equally sharp this scene would work better for me.

However, working with what we have now, I wonder about actually cropping out that left side flower and going to a square image so the slightly soft focus flowers become less dominant?

One very small point. In the top right corner there is a little blob of bright yellow which I find slightly distracting.

However, as an actual portrait, I think you have photographed her face well.

Thanks a lot for your kind suggestion and review

[fotugraphy]

I wonder about a crop like this...

The crop looks really great. Thanks a lot for sharing your valuable views.

[Geoff F]

Yes, that is the sort of scene which I was thinking about; so it works well for me.

[fotugraphy]

The half / half composition works well. Timing of the shutter is good and the connection and rapport is evident.

Very suitable Available light: good shot.

Apropos critique for improvement:

> concerning the Composition, clipping her scarf at camera right is annoying

> concerning Subject Matter, (as Dave mentioned) there is too much competition between the flowers and her face, but it occurs to me that is only ONE flower which is bothersome and that can be (with a bit of work) cloned out.

> concerning the lighting, it is very good: subtle, young and feminine, but the eyes are lacking; this also can be enhanced in Post Production.

Here is ROUGH (10 minute) edit. This is only to provide a visual example of meaning.

(NOTE - if you follow this Post Production route then much more detailed work is required in the Rebuilding and Cloning of the Subject Matter. It is much easier to get that correct, in the camera.)

The original is on the top:



(If you want to download the A/B for your reference, then do so soon as I clear that server regularly).

WW

Thanks a lot for your kind review and suggestions

[fotugraphy]

I like the way the three flowers flow to her face - perhaps blurring the sharp one would give it less pull? You have a wealth of good ideas here to think about. It's hard to take your eyes off that dazzling smile and eyes. I can't stop smiling. You made my morning.

Thanks a lot for your kind words

[fotugraphy]

Yes, that is the sort of scene which I was thinking about; so it works well for me.

Thanks a lot for your kind review