Kitty! But more or less Human.

[ks0385]

Comment Critique?

 

[peanut170]

Quite a good paint job, but pretty much a snapshot, no?

 

[ks0385]

What could have been done to make it more appealing?

 

[ChevyBaby]

I hate that the pen is cropped out! i almost feel like you wasted putting the arm in shot because of it lol! i get frustrated with the little things.
It's a bit dull, lighting wise, the light hits her form behind so really she's actually entirely in shadow.

 

[bazooka]

What could have been done to make it more appealing?

Get at eye level and lose the clutter. Count all the things in the image that are not contributing to what you are trying to communicate... the watch, the bright blue necklace, the arm in the background, the post in the background, the baby carriage, the water bottle in the carriage, the red table, the writing on the shirt, etc. You will need to both recompose, and lower your depth of field. The only thing you need in the shot is the face, the hand/paintbrush, and a background that isn't distracting with either color, contrast, or objects.

 

[ks0385]

Thanks for the comments guys.

What would be the upside of an eye level shot instead of one from a bit above?

 

[bazooka]

It depends on what you are going for. Looking down on someone can make them look inferior, small, innocent, shy, etc. Looking even with someone makes them personable, equal, warm, approachable. Looking up at someone makes them dominate, big, overwhelming, in charge, important, etc. For this particular shot and facial expression, I think you're trying just to capture the process of face painting. You don't really want the subject to be either more or less, but equal with the viewer... this is just my opinion though.

Now if she was looking into the camera like she was begging or pretend licking her 'paw', behaving like a cat, then maybe you would want to look down at her to make her look small and innocent. But in this case, her facial expression is more neutral, so I think an eye-level shot would best suit it.

I would also get more around toward the front of her. That way you could get more of her filling the frame without losing the paintbrush. There are two important things in this image... her face with the paint, and the paintbrush (maybe the hand of the person painting). Fill the frame without losing these two subjects and without including anything else, and this will be a much more effective image. It will communicate more clearly.

 

[ks0385]

Very helpful info. Thank you very much.