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Photo Critique #131

Photo Critique #131

on Apr 6th 2012 with 10 comments

Friday Photo Critique is our weekly community project, where we publish a photograph submitted by one of our wonderful readers, then ask you all to offer constructive feedback on the image. It’s a great way to learn more about photography, express your viewpoint, and have your own image critiqued!

Quick Ground Rules

  1. Play nice! We’ve deliberately chosen photographs that aren’t perfect, so please be constructive with any criticism.
  2. Feel free to offer any type of advice – composition, lighting, post-processing etc.
  3. You can also link to photographs that you feel offer a great example of this type of image shot exceptionally well.

Without further ado, here is this week’s candidate for Friday Photo Critique!

The Photograph

Photo Details & Inspiration

  • Nikon D700
  • 50mm
  • f/8
  • 1/800
  • ISO 500

Love the pose and lighting. I have considered lightening the mid-horizon near the models posterior because the skirt blends into the shadow and she loses her shape. Also, I am concerned the differences in the tiles in the flooring should be blended to one uniform color. Otherwise, I think it is an amazing image.

Photographer: Sean Callahan

Please let us know what you think in the comments – how would you have approached the scene or taken the photo differently? A massive thank you to everyone who commented last week.

The most constructive and helpful comments will be featured on the site. Interested in submitting your own photo? You can do so here!

 
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By

Rollover to read this author's bio or click through to see a full list of posts by this author.

I was raised in the suburbs of Cincinnati, Ohio. After high school, I left for Western Kentucky University where I obtained degrees in photojournalism and cultural anthropology. I am currently employed by CityBeat, an arts and entertainment weekly in Cincinnati. The work I am doing here is very rewarding and I suspect it will continue to be. I am available for freelance work in all areas of photography.  

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  • Mike Neyens

    Very nice photo. I really love the colours and the light, but I think it would benefit from a little crop.

  • Julian

    i would say that the shot could be composed a little better. as in, move a little closer. and the model’s right leg is a little disturbing somewhatish . other than that. Beautiful lighting lovely contrast. (skirt is a little too black to define her curves) if there was time to set up a hair-light off in the distance that might have helped. still an amazing shot

  • Jason

    I would crop the photo tall and narrow to only show the model (and a little bit of the wall she is leaning on) and the lamp just above and left of her head. This would create tension between her and the object in the background like what one finds in classical paintings.

  • http://frymanfoto.com Bill Fryman

    I’m a bit confused by this photo. I can’t decide if it is a travel photo showing a friend/family member in a special setting or if the intent was to focus on the model. I’ll base my comments on the latter. First, I think you need a much tighter crop (I actually like the crop Cameron did for the thumbnail although I might take away more of the right side and add some empty space on the left). Next, I would either use a flash or reflector to provide some additional light on the model’s back from the waist down. I think those two things alone would make this a better photo. I appreciate the detail of the artwork on the right side but it is so busy that it draws your eye away from the model. The differences in the tiles don’t bother me too much (and cropping would eliminate most of this) but the angles do. I see that you have kept the vertical lines straight but this leads to angled horizontal lines in the tiles and the base of the wall but, again, a tighter crop would fix this.

  • Ann

    Very nice photograph. Here’s my .02¢; the model is very pretty, but I think she should have been wearing heels to “fit” better in the scene. I agree with @Bill Fryman, the artwork on the right is distracting. Crop it with your hand and you’ll see what I mean.

    Thank you for posting this, I really learned from this exercise.

  • srhoar

    What is the photo about? You gave 2/3rds of the photo to the doorway and lower 1/4 for the model. So if the doorway is most important, remove the model. Then reframe to get the arch in full. Red

  • http://stucorlett.com Stuman

    I like the shot. Model is nice and pose pretty good. I agree with Ann, heels would have been nice.
    You should clone out the stray hairs on her head. I’d also smooth the skin. Also I think a tighter crop is needed I would certainly cut the bottom off so her feel run along the bottom of the frame. Its a pity you didn’t get the whole arch in, but since she’s facing the way she is, its almost irrelevant anyway. A different pose facing into the door with the whole door would have been cool too. The door itself is a bit dark and I would probably uses a little off camera flash to brighten it up. This will pull her out of the background a bit too. You can hardly see her skirt… A little on-camera flash (at -2) would have been nice too to give some more catchlight in her eyes. They look a bit too dark.

    Theres quite a lot of noise grain in the original too. I suspect it was under exposed and you amped it in RAW post (perhaps you didn’t shoot raw?). I would shoot for a bit brighter exposure and drop it back if needed, there’s plenty of latitude in that d700 sensor.

    Good effort, lovely photo.

  • Konstantin

    +1 to @srhoar – the photo looks like it is about the arch!

    Personally, I would crop tighter on the model.
    I would also use a reflector to light up model’s back, waist and legs. And for post-processing I would probably decrease contrast and saturation a little bit to make this photo fit my taste.

  • http://www.flickr.com/photos/bleak_deliverances/ Deliverance

    That is taken on a 10mm focal length? Hardly doubt it! :S

  • Ian

    I loved the photo and learned quite a bit from the posts re cropping etc.. Personally I wouldn’t have had the model in high heels as suggested, think apart from darkness hiding some of the shape (which may make it somewhat more alluring?) she is striking. I do agree that the wall decoration is very distracting but nevertheless I really enjoyed the photo it is interesting.