Musician - honest feedback please

[Pax]

This is a portrait of my wife with her electric guitar which I did today. It was my first attempt at taking portrait-pictures that go beyond snapshot. I took it with our little Conica Minolta DiMage Xg, flash off, handheld. The lighting came from ceiling lamps and ordinary floor lamps shining against white surfaces to get some indirect light to avoid heavy shadows.

When taken into consideration that I own absolutely no professional equipment and that it was my first attempt I'm quite satisfied with the outcome. Yet I'd be more than happy to get your honest feedback on three questions of mine:

1. The overall composition: Is it okay? Does the picture look like more than a simple snapshot?

2. The lighting: I couldn't completely get rid of the annoying shadows (like on the floor and on my wifes face). Do these shadows ruin even a semi-professional look? And how could I get rid of them?

3. The crop: It's meant to be a portrait, so do you think I've included too much? Or do you miss something? I've played around with the crop and this is what I finally felt the most comfortable with. What do you think?

Well, now here it is.

Thank you very much for looking and for any constructive and honest feedback.


Edited in: I just now realized that I think that her eyes look a bit too flat, yet I don't know how to make them look more lifely or "intense". If anyone knows and would like to try, the picture is OTE.

 

[FuryofNature]

i like the photo. i don't care for the yellow thats consuming her. I tried a few things and came up with this.

_KA

 

[Holly]

I agree with the Yellow... I love the second photo!!

 

[ivoeman]

Hi Pax,

First of all, it is more than just a packshot. Still I wanted to give you some feedback.
To my advice it certainly is a real portrait. A portrait means that it tells something about a person. Traditional portraits just show someone's face, as this is meant to tell a lot about a person. Still, including a part of the body is no problem and can tell even more. You can even make portraits without faces!
This portrait should tell something about a woman who plays a guitar. The composition on its own is not that bad. But, I think this bird's eye view is not really flattering. It tends to make people little and shy. I do not think this is the right appraoch for a electric guitar player. Is it? If you take a picture from above, the person looks like a child.
The light is not too bad, but it could need some direction. The orange colour is probably caused by tungsten light. Try indirect flash light or place her next to a window (window right or left).
Please go on like this. As a first picture it is great!

Ivo

 

[craig]

Excellent!!! I am getting a lot of love from this frame. She seems relaxed. I love how she is holding on to her guitar. It is clear that this is her "voice". Technically the yellow cast is a little rough. In cases like this shoot in tungsten mode. To correct this shot: convert to CMYK and open the magenta and yellow channels.

 

[jadin]

Why not simply b+w?

As far as compositon, the crop seems too tight for me. I'd include the top of her head, and the elbows. I'd also make both eyes fully visible. One is partly hidden behind the guitar.

Other than that I like it. Shadows are fine, since you pretty much focus on her eyes. You don't notice them.

 

[eydryan]

oh man what a great looking guitar! it's too bad it's not all of it in frame.i'd really like to be able to read what is on it. and for the crop it is too tight, she's caged in a box, a very tortured stance too...

and about the honest feedback, don't worry it's all you'll get on this forum

 

[DramaDork626]

Yah I like the second one's color better. But your composition is fine and I like the shadows and the angle. You don't need professional equipment to get a good picture.