First decent photo

[ChrisNikon]

First shot, comments welcome. Mainly I was just taking pictures and changing settings to figure out how everything on the camera worked and getting comfortable with it, but this one came out pretty well [I think!] when all was said and done. First attempts at serious post-processing as well, so anything that I missed that should be done standard feel free to point out!

[rob marshall]

I think the pose is very good. It's unusual too. But the lighting isn't quite right. The shadows in her left eye socket are quite noticeable. The hands are a lot brighter than her face which tends to make one look at the hands first. Not sure what that is on the bottom-left - sofa perhaps?

Good effort though, and with the lighting corrected I think it would make a very good shot.

[tb72]

I share Rob point of view. Idoor shots are not obvious to mange in terms of lighting

[Geoff F]

What did you have in the way of equipment, Chris?

If you had full studio lights and reflectors etc, then the previous points are valid. However if it was a straight, as it comes natural lighting shot; it is a very good result.

Either way, I like it.

[ChrisNikon]

I don't think I could quite justify the cost of a studio, or reflectors, or any of that No, this was taken with just my D90 on its 18-105, with the built-in flash, although I don't think I was using it at the time.

Thanks for the comments about the shadows, I'll see if I can soften them somehow in Photoshop maybe. And next time I'll do something about that lamp hehe.

[MiniChris]

You might also want to have her turn her head just a teensy-weensy little bit more toward the camera which will give her eye more room to look out of the frame. As she sits now, there is lovely detail in the right part of the frame, but it isn't doing anything to strengthen the shot - it's just "there."

I am a firm proponent of everything in the composition having purpose - need. When you are adjusting for the light strength on the hands, do the same for the shoulder as it is pretty bright. If you are using the camera's flash, you can diffuse the brightness by draping a few layers of muslin or even cheesecloth over the unit and still drop the exposure value by a stop or so.