Alison near Lake Erie

[WDodd]

Couldn't decide whether or not to crop it, feel free to comment on that. Also, rip it apart and tell me what else I need to do better. Thanks

 

[Senor Hound]

Right now, my eyes are drawn between the beautiful subject and the beautiful sky. Though I'm sure in real life, it'd be no comparison, I don't know which to look at in this photo.

I'd crop. The clouds are nice, but they're vying for the attention that your posed subject deserves.

 

[rufus5150]

I concur, she gets a bit lost. I also think she's a tad underexposed compared to the rest of the scene. The shadow on what she's sitting on is odd. It screams 'flash' only because there's this HUGE light source behind her which tells my eyes I should be seeing shadows other directions. Notice the subtle shadows cast in front in comparison to the harsh shadows cast on the yellow post?

As to how to remedy that, someone more experienced would have to chime in. I've only had experience working entirely with natural light.

 

[WDodd]

Thanks for your replies.

Rufus, I agree with what you are saying. I'm going to try and see if I can't brighten up the bottom portion of the photograph just a bit. Learning lighting is tough

 

[Judge Sharpe]

If you had it, a small reflector on the right woud help, otherwise I think your exposure meter wasreading off the bright left part of the photo. Open up a sop or two and she should have all of her radiance.
JS

 

[Big Mike]

First thing I noticed was that the horizon is not level. It's not off by much...but it should always be level when water is in the background like this.

Also, you bisected her head with the horizon. I don't think it's all that bad in this case...but it's not good either.

I also agree that she is underexposed. I think the background has a nice exposure so to brighten her up, I'd suggest more fill light via flash or reflector.

Overall, it's still a fairly good photo. Her expression is good, which goes a long way.

 

[WDodd]

Thanks Mike for the constructive criticism. I did notice that the horizon was not level but it wasn't until after I posted here and was just too lazy to fix it because it was so minor

As far as bisecting her head, I was thinking that shooting from closer to the group might help that situation? But, that would lose some of the effect of the water.

I haven't had time to mess around with changing the exposure of just her, but I'm assuming this could be done with a layer mask. Would that be the easiest way?

 

[Big Mike]

I haven't had time to mess around with changing the exposure of just her, but I'm assuming this could be done with a layer mask. Would that be the easiest way?

If I was going to adjust the image (rather than re-shooting and adjusting the lighting)...then yes, I'd probably incorporate a layer mask or two.

 

[Shibby!]

Wouldn't anybody think a warmer gel on the flash would help "blend" her with the background?

 

[GeorgiaOwl]

The MP count limited what I could do with it, but I like it better like this...

everyone has their own opinion though!

i think I went a little too far with the contrast though. sry.