Headshot C&C

[Ballistics]

DSC_7923nologo by The Photo Major, on Flickr

 

[Derrel]

The biggest issue I have is that her head just sort of floats, with no visible means of support on the left hand side of the frame--she's been lopped off at the neck. In terms of percentage, she's 50% of the frame,the right hand side of the frame, and the entire left hand side of the image offers absolutely zero visual interest. To use an old term, she's shown as "a floating head". Her head and hair are quite large in the frame,ands the top of her head touches the edge of the frame. Her head's touching the top of the frame, and her chin is uncomfortably low in the frame. Are you shooting this as a horizontal just because you don't know how to compose? Or to get a rise out of the few of us that do? You know what's coming...

You desperately needed to turn the camera to vertical, to show the head as more than just a head and neck. She's cut off right at the neck/body juncture, and that looks bad. The "photography" part is somewhat okay. The approach to posing and framing is very unsophisticated. She did her part though. On the lighting front, I'm not sure why the camera-right catchlight in the eye is so much smaller and weaker than the one on the off side...that does not look natural, or "right" visually. I'd clone in some more catchlight on the camera-right eye, to even that up. Maybe straighten up her lipstick arch a bit too. Sorry if this sounds harsh. I realize it probably does. Can;t help it. It's what you need to have said. Unless you just want an "Atta' guy!, nice pic!" type of comment and nothing actually valuable.

 

[Ballistics]

Are you shooting this as a horizontal just because you don't know how to compose? Or to get a rise out of the few of us that do? You know what's coming...

Unless you just want an "Atta' guy!, nice pic!" type of comment and nothing actually valuable.

I just can't take your critique seriously. Sorry. Until you talk just about the pic and get less personal, I'm just going to ignore "the vast knowledge" that you apparently possess.

 

[binga63]

Are they real or added later in post eyelashes?... and both eyes aren't in focus, the skin looks a little overprocessed, she is a lovely model... just my opinion..

 

[Derrel]

As expected, you missed all the OBVIOUS, the blatantly, blatantly obvious points of C&C and took it personally. That's probably why this has 117 views, and ONE responder...me. It's a poor composition. Period. Should have been posed right.It's not. SHe is "a floating head", and not in a good way. You're obviously not studied in compositional theories or practices. Get a book on art history. I would LOVE to hear a defense of the many poor compositional "choices" you made when composing this elaborate studio-lighted shot. It's not a snapshot. If you had an art director,or a real mentor, this amateurish horizontal lop-off would NEVER pass muster, not even from the first click.

Pick up a copy of Vogue. Or W. Look at how good photographers shoot.

 

[Judobreaker]

It may seem like Derrel has the subtlety of a blunt axe, but he does have some good points. Especially the one about using a vertical frame instead of a horizontal one.
The fact that he's bringing it like this is that unfortunately this seems to be the best way to make most people see the point.
You'll be a wise man if you can ignore the bluntness of his post and do take his actual critique seriously.
He is trying to help... He really is.

 

[Ballistics]

You missed all the OBVIOUS< blatant C&C, and took it personally.

I just can't take your critique seriously. Sorry.

Again.

 

[Ballistics]

It may seem like Derrel has the subtlety of a blunt axe, but he does have some good points. Especially the one about using a vertical frame instead of a horizontal one.
The fact that he's bringing it like this is that unfortunately this seems to be the best way to make most people see the point.
You'll be a wise man if you can ignore the bluntness of his post and do take his actual critique seriously.
He is trying to help... He really is.

I pretty much refuse to sift through BS anymore.

 

[Judobreaker]

That is of course entirely up to you, whether anyone likes it or not.

 

[.SimO.]

I like the lighting and shadows on her face. Her neck doesn't seem as soft though to me but that isn't a big deal to me. Solid focus on the eyes and great hair, makeup and accessories. Still can't decide if i'd like this image more on a white background. I do agree with some of Derrel's critiques but I do like the image.

 

[Derrel]

You are acting like the young,young man you are. If you're going to make it as a pro photograher, you'd better learn how to shoot in the right compositional orientation for the subject matter. You are offering up a 50-50 head-lop and a inky black backdrop, and presenting a floating head with a neck amputation.

I have an idea, ballistics: Let's hear you present to us the DEFENSE of your choices, like you had to do when I was studying photography. Right here, in front of the "whole group", you tell us why it's "all that", and then as a group, we'll C&C your picture. This could have been better. THIS IS SUPPOSED to be a headshot, something that makes HER look great! But, it has been butchered into a "landscape"; the frame cuts into her head; her person has been cut off at the TORSO/NECK juncture. It does not take "vast knowledge" to see, nor to understand these serious fundamental flaws, and how they lessen the impact of decent lighting and good makeup.

Well, gotta get the kid ready for school, then an all-day landscape shoot with a competent young TPF photo buddy of mine. A guy who is willing to learn and is making incredible progress fast.

The image is 50% her, shown smaller than optimal, and 50% worthless black. I'd love to hear the defense and justification of the framing orientation. Please, enlighten us all, mmkay?

 

[rexbobcat]

I do have to agree that it's a little tight, claustrophobic.

The shadows don't bother me as much as I wish it was a little bit warmer. She seems a bit pale. Not much, just a little

 

[The_Traveler]

I don't ascribe to any standard or theory; I look at a picture and try to figure out what my subconscious response is to the various elements, what makes the picture either work or not work for me.

To some one who looks at only content and superficial impact, this is a great shot - great color, great sharpness, damn nice PPing.
What does bother me is the placement in the frame.
I look at the picture and my subconscious person, who believes that everything in an image is left there for a purpose. tries to parse where you've put her and to figure out what message you are giving with the placement.
Her head touches the top, she's almost cut off at the neck at the bottom, with that little piece of dress pointing down.
Yet there is room behind her and lots of room at the left. It isn't balancing anything, why is it there?
And she's merging into that dark background - why?

I'm not saying there are answers to these questions, just that you did this and my inner person is trying to figure out why.

If she was pretty close to the edge all around, then the clipping at top and bottom would make sense to me; those empty spaces would be gone mostly and the merge into the background wouldn't be as important. I wouldn't care about little things being clipped off; it makes sense and doesn't cost any real info.

So I would be happier with something like this below.

IMO, everything in the frame is put there or left there on purpose and should have an artistic reason.

 

[The_Traveler]

Oh, and a little more room all around would be fine too.
The framing just has to make sense.

 

[Studio7Four]

I'm as likely as anyone to argue with Derrel's insistence on using the vertical orientation for "portraits", but in this case he's right, and here's my take on why. It's really a combination of things which make the horizontal orientation not work in this case. Change one of them and I might give you a pass and support the decision to use the horizontal orientation.
-You have no detail in about the left 40% of the frame. Her black hair fades into the black background (it could really have used a rim light on this side to separate the hair from the background). Her right shoulder, either through the turn and tilt to her body or light falloff, disappears right about the horizontal midpoint of the frame. Either give us some detail in that area (even if it's just some mottling in the background) or give us a hint that that dead space is actually airspace over something solid - show enough of that side of her body to give her an implied foundation under that dead space.
-Her head is turned far enough away from the camera that to get her eyes to look back at the camera causes such negligible white remaining on the camera-right side, you almost get the impression that she is looking out of the frame to camera right. Looking "into" the dead space in such an off center composition is okay, looking out of the frame just feel wrong. Turn the head back just a tad to get the white back into her eyes and she better appears to be looking at the camera. Or don't have her look at the camera, have her look into the frame.

A few other notes, per request:
- I think your lighting needs some tweaking. I kind of like the angle from which the main and fill lights are hitting her, though I think the ratio is too large for this shot (the subject doesn't lend itself as well to such shadow contouring IMO). I think you needed a larger apparent source - her face is evenly lit, but there is a tremendous falloff down to her neck and shoulder (and the hair that continues that low). The light striking her face seems a bit bright to me, particularly in combination with how dark the rest of the image is. I already mentioned that this shot would have benefited from a rim light to separate her hair from the background.
- I like the little splashes of color, tying in the lipstick and the red in her hair. I do wish, however, that the lipstick had been chosen in a shade closer to the red in her hair (it has more pink in it), emphasized by the difference in light levels.
- You're showing a moderate amount of her left shoulder but nothing really on the other side of her neck. This really creates an unbalanced feeling, as though her head is likely to fall over to camera left. Whether it's pose, wardrobe, lighting or a combination of each, I really would have liked some balance here.