Self Portrait

AIRIC · Feb 13, 2006

Great shot, I love it.

Eric

craig · Feb 13, 2006

Good camera work! Looks like you and the Rebel XT will work out well together. The black bar seems distracting.

JonK · Feb 13, 2006

works for me

nicely done. I think you conveyed the feeling you were after.
loved the work on your website BTW.

elsaspet · Feb 14, 2006

Wow Emma, that is some FANTASTIC work! I love the lighting, the pose, the props, the colors, the focus.........everything. You are a beauty too!
VERY well done. I can't wait to see more.

Taralyn Romero · Feb 15, 2006

Wow - this is great! Very creative and beautifully put together! Congrats on your success in conveying your "lonely tea party" feeling!

Reefbabe · Feb 15, 2006

I REALLY like this photo. The title goes well because it DOES look as if you went through all this trouble putting together this elaborate little get-together....only to be cut down with dissapointment when your guest did not show. The expression truely depicts that. Great work!

Also...you are very beautiful. I look foward to seeing more of your "self portraits" in the future.

MommyOf4Boys · Feb 15, 2006

I love it! You did so well expressing what you were feeling. I think the clutterness adds to the feeling and everything seems so perfectly chaotic! Awsome job.

photogoddess · Feb 15, 2006

I keep coming back to this photo and everytime, I seem to go away liking it more. Nice work!

Jeepnut28 · Feb 15, 2006

this photo is great, I love it. great work.

df3photo · Feb 15, 2006

I love it except the background at the top... the dark line keeps drawing me away. but I love everything else.

Emma-Lee · Feb 16, 2006

Awww thanks everyone! I'm glad it's got such great feedback. I'm also glad my mother has an extensive collection of tea pots and cups and saucers. I even went out and bought conversation hearts (in the foreground) because they remind me of the little note on the bottle Alice drank which said "drink me". hahaha. Conveniently, it was the day before Valentines.

Thanks for all the welcoming words! :blushing:

Also, I'm still torn about the wood at the top. I have tried it with and without and haven't decided yet which I prefer.

Quickmagic · Feb 16, 2006

Excellent portrait Emma-Lee, The camera shows your beauty and your expression is just great.

Emma-Lee · Feb 16, 2006

ok, here it is without the bar on the top now. I think you might be right, it's better gone. Thanks!

markc · Feb 16, 2006

I'm trying to remember what it was like before the crop, but yes, I think I like this even better. What a great shot!

One of the things I really like about this image is that you have the light balanced so well. My eye starts on your face, travels down the length of the table to check out the clutter, but always comes back to your face following that stack on the left with the tea cup leading right back to your face. It follows this looping path over and over. If you had overlit the tea pots, my eye would have ended up stuck down there. You have the DOF perfect, too. Enough to be able to tell what things are (mostly), but not so much that your eyes get caught up in the detail.

I try to come up with at least something as a suggestion to try out differently, just to see, but the only thing I can come up with is to lighten the exposure just a touch. Maybe on your face or maybe the whole image. That's a tough call though, as a lot depends on how everyone's monitors are calibrated.