C&C please

[GMulligan]

I would love feedback as what to do to improve the shot..thanks

 

[pickle788]

White balance looks off in both photos to me

 

[Mully]

I would tighten then up...recrop #1 to a vertical ...color is off

 

[JacaRanda]

In the 2nd photo, the background is a distraction with all the branches and leaves above the models head, along with the arched trunks or branches on the right side of the photo. I think you have done much better with the background of the 1st photo. Some people may prefer portrait orientation instead of landscape on that one.

Very pretty model you have and gorgeous eyes!

 

[ronlane]

What's been said above about wb, check it. #1 looks good to me but it looks like a shallow dof. #2 looks like the focus was on her chin instead of eyes, could be just me. I would agree about cropping it too.

 

[tentwo]

White Balance as stated above.

#1 Flyhairs (Red Lines)
blemishes (Red Lines)
Cropping (Blue Line)
remove wrinkles in eyes

#2 (Tree Photo)
Fingers on hands should be natural and open
Flyhairs
Lighten
Left hand is chopped off
I hate crotch shots so the legs should be swapped with the leg closest to the camera crossing the other leg
Shoulders are too square rotate more.
and Tree limb looks like its growing from her head.


Hope this helps. Still good model and good shots, just some tweaking and your good.

 

[cwcaesar]

I don't really care for the second photo. My eye keeps going back to the bags under her eyes, especially her right eye. I this is definitely the wrong angle of light for her as it gives that hard shadow right beneath the eye. I don't care too much for the composition either.

I really like the first photo. Maybe her hair could have been a little more tame, with less fliers, but I like the composition and lighting.

 

[The_Traveler]

I like the first much more because of the not-flattering pose of teh second.
I do think the first has some issues.
First, way too much room behind her, that adds nothing.
If you want a landscaped portrait, put the space in front of her face.

Second, her skin is quite cool and too flat in tone, for my liking.
Third, her head is tilted back and it can be uprighted a bit and make it look more natural.
Lastly I am confused by the skin tone. It doesn't look sharp although the eyes and lips do - actually almost too much.

Some edits done.

 

[GMulligan]

Thanks to everyone for the valuable feedback...I am just starting out and still really trying to understand white balance and color and well, really, all of it

 

[The_Traveler]

just out of curiosity, did you edit the skin in #1?

 

[Studio7Four]

White balance may be an issue but I think posting these pictures side by side makes the white balance look more off than it probably is. The first one looks a little cool, but it conveys to me that she is in the shade and on its own merits I don't have a problem with that. Similarly, I definitely get the feel from the second that she is being lit by nice warm late afternoon sun. They don't agree so they don't work ideally as a set, but individually I don't mind the white balance.

As for cropping, I actually prefer the dead space behind her. Because of her pose you get a slope to her back - accentuated by the blond hair following that contour - that gives a nice diagonal to the image. Starting where that hair meets the bottom of the frame, you get a nice straight line at 45 degrees which follows the hair resting on her back, goes through her right eye, and hits the part in her hair (which happens to be the brightest part of her hair). A tight square crop (as suggested by tentwo) may work for you but IMHO it is too tight and, by cutting into her from the left, reduces the impact of this diagonal. I certainly feel a vertical crop would be way too tight (a vertically composed original could have worked, but not cropping this one).

I also think The_Traveler's crop, though worth seeing and considering, doesn't work quite as well as your original crop. Even though she is looking right at the camera, because of the turn to her head you see much more white to the camera-right sides of her eyes. This gives me the slight feeling that she is looking back over her shoulder - towards where you've left the dead space. Because of this interpretation it feels to me that she is actually looking away from any dead space left to image-right, so that space is really dead.

 

[The_Traveler]

Thanks to everyone for the valuable feedback...I am just starting out and still really trying to understand white balance and color and well, really, all of it

Absolutely the most difficult thing is to be objective about one's own pictures - and that's key to making edits.

I suggest this.
First, allow a day or so between your first viewing and the final editing, that allows that first rush of enthusiasm to fade.

Now assuming the picture does have the general impact you want, break down your self-critique into small measurable peeks, where you look at specific items and decide whether items that seem 'wrong' should be or can be changed.

Are there bright areas of light or color that draw your eye from the real object of interest?

Are there one or more obvious centers of visual interest where your eye can settle?
Is(are) the center(s) of interest - the main subject(s) - well placed within the frame and does the placement relate well to the rest of the content so that any viewer's eye is drawn to, rather than away?
Is there excess space that pulls the eye away and drains any tension or drama from the picture?
Is there space that gives some weight to an important part of an image?
Is there enough space so that nothing feels cramped or cut off?
If the subject is a person or a face and his/her placement in the frame is asymmetric, does the asymmetry make sense to the eye?

Are there geometric issues? e.g. are the horizontals and vertical correct, and is that important?

Is the skin color 'natural' to the subject?
Are there little off-tints in the skin? (look at the sides of the nose and under the chin where these lurk.)
Is there a bluish tint to the skin or the whites of the eyes? (Even with a custom white balance, this is all too common in portraits taken outdoors. Try adding a warming photo filter and see how this looks.)
Is the color or tonality appropriate for the content? Saturation or lack of it? Correct hues, white balance?
Does the color make the point that you want?

Is the sharpness or lack of sharpness appropriate?
Is everything that should be in focus and sharp, actually so?
In the reverse, is there so much depth of field, so much in focus that attention is drawn away from the real object of interest?

Are there individual small defects -points of motion, dirt on the lens/sensor, out-of-focus spots that hurt the image, unduly bright areas that draw the eye?
​

This will quickly become unscripted and automatic.

added
Nothing is wrong per se if it creates the impression that you want to make.
Something is wrong if it gets between the viewer and her/his appreciation of the image.

 

[GMulligan]

THANKS!! I appreciate your input.

 

[The_Traveler]

added to post above.

Nothing is wrong per se if it creates the impression that you want to make.
Something is wrong if it gets between the viewer and her/his appreciation of the image.

 

[The_Traveler]

Always looking for content, I re-purposed that post above, added some more ideas and a bit on workflow and made it all into a blog post at this link.