Speaking of horizontal orientation....

[_jessicalynn_]

Whatcha think. I kind of love it on this image.

 

[cgipson1]

You minimized dead space... but I still want to see her forehead, and hair...

 

[amolitor]

This sort of crop tends to give a kind of intensity to the portrait, which does suit the expression on the child's face here. The popped eyes and shallow depth of field also serve to bring our attention to the eyes, and increase that sense of intensity. The placement of the face in the frame is not traditional, the overall flow is left to right, and she is facing to the right rather than across the longer part of the frame. I am not sure what the effect of that is, but it's doing something.

Overall it works pretty well for me. The one oddity is the choice to make this intense and moody portrait of a small child. It's an unusual and slightly unsettling choice. We're used to pictures of kids being carefree and cheerful, and this one projects a sense of brooding. I'm not sure what to make of it. Is it a joke, as when the kid puts on her I Am Serious face and pretends to be all serious like a grownup? That's a perfectly good interpretation of this, I think. Is it something more genuinely serious? The fact that it's not quite clear why the serious face, the intensity, is what I find a trifle unsettling.

All that said, it's an image where all the elements seem to be pulling together, and it's an image that makes me ponder a bit. That's good enough for, it's all I really ask of any photograph.

So, well done!

 

[pgriz]

I'm not hard-core on the use of portrait orientation for faces. Yes, in most cases it is an appropriate format, but not always. In this image, I interpret the "subject" being the expression on the girl's face, and the horizontal format focuses my attention on the expression more than on the girl's portrait. The one nit I would pick is the appearance of her left cheek, with the way the hair comes around it gives an impression that she has something stuffed in that cheek. Now looked at carefully, it is apparent that she doesn't, but the image does create that illusion.

 

[Derrel]

You did okay on this shot. You used the space well. That is what counts--utilizing the entire compositional space well--not simply blind adherence to some idiotic, knee-jerk rule.

 

[Designer]

Your choice of format and crop has made the wall a more important element in the composition than it might have otherwise been.

 

[CA_]

I love landscape for portraits, it preventsthe photo from looking like it was done at Walmart.

 

[_jessicalynn_]

I'm not hard-core on the use of portrait orientation for faces. Yes, in most cases it is an appropriate format, but not always. In this image, I interpret the "subject" being the expression on the girl's face, and the horizontal format focuses my attention on the expression more than on the girl's portrait. The one nit I would pick is the appearance of her left cheek, with the way the hair comes around it gives an impression that she has something stuffed in that cheek. Now looked at carefully, it is apparent that she doesn't, but the image does create that illusion.

I had issues w the illusion in the cheek as well however there wasn't much I could do about it as I didn't notice at the time.

 

[_jessicalynn_]

This sort of crop tends to give a kind of intensity to the portrait, which does suit the expression on the child's face here. The popped eyes and shallow depth of field also serve to bring our attention to the eyes, and increase that sense of intensity. The placement of the face in the frame is not traditional, the overall flow is left to right, and she is facing to the right rather than across the longer part of the frame. I am not sure what the effect of that is, but it's doing something.

Overall it works pretty well for me. The one oddity is the choice to make this intense and moody portrait of a small child. It's an unusual and slightly unsettling choice. We're used to pictures of kids being carefree and cheerful, and this one projects a sense of brooding. I'm not sure what to make of it. Is it a joke, as when the kid puts on her I Am Serious face and pretends to be all serious like a grownup? That's a perfectly good interpretation of this, I think. Is it something more genuinely serious? The fact that it's not quite clear why the serious face, the intensity, is what I find a trifle unsettling.

All that said, it's an image where all the elements seem to be pulling together, and it's an image that makes me ponder a bit. That's good enough for, it's all I really ask of any photograph.

So, well done!

Thank you! The child had issues w making authentic faces for the camera. Her and her twin were sweethearts but struggled through the session. This expression moved me and felt very real! There were definite moments of joy on the session, but I tend to be drawn to more serious child portraits. Just my preference.

 

[_jessicalynn_]

I love landscape for portraits, it preventsthe photo from looking like it was done at Walmart.

I tend to like it too, hence my profile pic

 

[jake337]

This sort of crop tends to give a kind of intensity to the portrait, which does suit the expression on the child's face here. The popped eyes and shallow depth of field also serve to bring our attention to the eyes, and increase that sense of intensity. The placement of the face in the frame is not traditional, the overall flow is left to right, and she is facing to the right rather than across the longer part of the frame. I am not sure what the effect of that is, but it's doing something.

Overall it works pretty well for me. The one oddity is the choice to make this intense and moody portrait of a small child. It's an unusual and slightly unsettling choice. We're used to pictures of kids being carefree and cheerful, and this one projects a sense of brooding. I'm not sure what to make of it. Is it a joke, as when the kid puts on her I Am Serious face and pretends to be all serious like a grownup? That's a perfectly good interpretation of this, I think. Is it something more genuinely serious? The fact that it's not quite clear why the serious face, the intensity, is what I find a trifle unsettling.

All that said, it's an image where all the elements seem to be pulling together, and it's an image that makes me ponder a bit. That's good enough for, it's all I really ask of any photograph.

So, well done!

I always catch my son in some serious looks and love those keepsakes!

 

[Mr_Mac]

I think amoliter hit the nail on the head with his thoughts. I, too, was drawn to her eyes first and then her whole facial expression and what she's thinking. In short, I love it!

 

[tentwo]

I love the beautiful big eyes! I love the natural essence of it and I too tend to like the close up horizontal. How did this look in color? As stated above I would have added the top hairline slightly but overall I love it.

 

[nycphotography]

In this format, I might crop even tighter across the top, and down the right.

I can visualize, but can't post it right now. I may be able to try one later this evening.