BW girl in the park, CC please

[calmom]

I would really appreciate any cc you have for me on this picture. I can take the criticism.

This was shot at iso200
ss 1/1500
f 3.3
spot metering

the sun was *very* harsh that day so I did the best I could with what I had. I'm especially wondering about the black and white conversion and the composition.

I defogged, converted to bw, sharpened the eyes and then sharp. for web.

Thanks for looking.

 

[Sw1tchFX]

she looks kind of lonely.

 

[LaFoto]

Subject, composition, focus, pp work, way of dealing with the light situation ... all good, I say. Nothing to critique here, really. The black border helps make the photo pop on our otherwise bright screen. I like how we can see a bit of a flush on her face. The eyes are clear and bright. I know too little about portrait photography, but this talks to me as one of the better outdoor portrait shots.

 

[Alex_B]

at least on my laptop screen her face is a bit dark. but then again it is only my laptop (actually not even my own )

did you push up the contrast? (de-fogging)? Maybe you could restrict that to the midtones, so you could save some of the highlights.

Apart from these minor technical things I like the image. As said,she looks a bit lonely, but oberving her surroundings, like someone put her there and forgot her tells a story somehow.

 

[JohnMF]

i think it's a really pleasant portrait, the composition looks fine to me.

maybe a little dodging and burning on the face could help bring her face out abit.

what mono conversion technique did you use?

 

[Mike_E]

Looks good. My only caveat is that an hour or so from noon is the time to go looking for some shade. mike

 

[calmom]

Hey, thanks for taking the time to comment.

Switch, lonely. hmm, i think maybe she does. thanks for pointing that out.

LaFoto, thanks for the compliment and for describing in detail what you see.

alex, if you're meaning the contrast/brightness, i don't like to use that. i did push up the midtones in levels but left the highlights alone. 'defogging' is what the people on my other photography board call removing the digital haze. i guess everyone calls it something different. i appreciate your comments.

john, i agree that maybe her face could be brought out a little. her flush is some of the darkness and i didn't know how to brighten her face while leaving the natural flush. i used gradient map and then adjusted levels.

mike, yes. if i had been smarter, i would have directed her to the shade. i find myself in this situation a lot. i do need to start paying better attention to the light.

thanks so much!

 

[emogirl]

charming picture....i shoot lots outside in natural light and go look for the shade at that time of day...but it works here, as it does so often, going against the grain! well done!

 

[teishu]

very good picture, maybe slightly more grass around her, but i like it

 

[calmom]

kim and jason, thank you for commenting.

 

[jerseygirl]

i'm a total newbie, but there is nothing in this photo i don't like! i enjoy taking photos of people (most recently my baby girl) and if i could get shots like this i would be verrrrrrrrry happy :thumbup: