She looks like a lingerie model to me (Nsfw)

cauzimme · Dec 8, 2015

Or a Vampire
Hey Folks,
So yeah I really like this new shot. (Don't be afraid of CC even if I say I like it!!)
I posted it on Fb and 2 great photographer were like You took that ? Yep

Designer · Dec 8, 2015

I like the back-lit hair, but to me the differential in light intensity between the light parts and the dark parts is too great, and the shadows on her face are not good. My opinion.

Braineack · Dec 8, 2015

the shadow control across her teeth is unfortunate...

tirediron · Dec 8, 2015

I'd like to see a larger version.

kundalini · Dec 8, 2015

The hands.... the hands. They are (mostly) similarly lit and (mostly) on the same plane. The left hand (camera right) is so bright in comparison to that side of the image with virtually no other detail, it is a floating body part.

The rim light may have worked if you had remembered there is a mirror in the image. The quadruple effect is well overstated. The watchword is "flags". I would set the angle higher to "rim" the top of the head rather than ear level and below.

The shoulders are virtually parallel with the hands.... did I mention the hands?

I can almost see the right knee, which means you should probably bring that crop up a bit.

Lovely model and lovely setting. The rest is up to you.

Derrel · Dec 8, 2015

This is so small, it's difficult to appreciate what's in the file...when I look at it the hands and the teeth jump out. There appears to be (?) a ton of skin-smoothing going on, I think. She looks like a mannequin to me. From what I can actually see.

JoeW · Dec 9, 2015

cauzimme said:
Or a Vampire
Hey Folks,
So yeah I really like this new shot. (Don't be afraid of CC even if I say I like it!!)
I posted it on Fb and 2 great photographer were like You took that ? Yep

Thanks for sharing. Lovely model. Ambitious photo given the degree of shadow and darkness.

Here are some tips for improving this (or if you reshooting, getting an even better image):
1. A small reflector to bounce some light off of her face. Mark's right about the shadowing on the face and teeth--that's unfortunate.
2. Love the backlighting in her hair. Unfortunately, it dies off at the top of the head and her hair dissolves into the background.
3. The pose means the hands appear out of nowhere. I think you're better off with a bit of light on the left bicep/arm to at least give us the outline of an arm. Or putting that left hand in shadow.
4. I'd crop a bit higher. I tend not to like light reflecting off of the stockings so higher crop works for that as well.
5. On the face, I tend to prefer models not face the camera head-on but instead a slight angle. Plus I don't like the bit of light on her left eyelid (while the rest of that side is in-shadow). So if her face was pointed to her left by 5 degrees, that would fix that issue.
6. Last of all, I don't like the positioning of the wrap/pegnoir. It should drape and instead it hangs. To the human eye the partially covered right breast probably looked great but b/c of shadow and the big strip of fabric on the seam, it just hangs and looks stiff. I'd either uncover that right breast (have the wrap hang on the outside of her bra rather than over the cup) or I'd bring it closer to her chest. Remember, this is sheer fabric so it can completely cover her torso and it's not going to hide anything.

I think there's a lot of potential with this shot, you've just chosen an approach that is difficult to make work without attention to a lot of small details. If you get a chance to reshoot this and then make a couple of post-production details, you'll have a lovely result b/c this is a nice idea with a lovely model and outfit.

Here are a couple of other hints for you to consider:
--with this outfit, a backlit version of this model would look exquisite. It's so sheer, it will work beautifully for that concept.
--move the model further away from the light behind her so it can hit more of her head and body.
--while I love poses/headshots where hair partially obscures part of the face, in this case with the strong light and strong shadow, I'd suggest having her push the hair on the right side back so her face doesn't get strong shadows from the hair. B/c it's one direction with the light, her left side is going to be in shadow so light up the right side of her face.
--give her a prop for one of her hands. A champagne flute....a rose...a cell phone...a piece of lingerie...a pair of heels dangling from 1 or 2 fingers...a silk scarf. You can add color, make the hands less distracting. Plus new models don't know what to do with their hands anyway so props like that can produce better poses (and shots).

Keep up the good work and thanks for sharing.