Photo critique

Michele Rushworth · 11-22-2006, 11:03 AM

Can you post the alternate photos at full size?

The first one seems a bit stiffly posed and I'm not sure what she's looking at just above our heads to the left. This gaze gives the subject an aloof distance from the viewer. Not sure if that's what you want.

Most portraits I see have a definite reason for the subject to be looking where they are: either at the viewer, or distinctly "off camera" in order to show a strong profile or thoughtful contemplative pose.

Jan Keeling · 11-22-2006, 02:00 PM

Done.

Michele Rushworth · 11-22-2006, 02:15 PM

Maybe the first pose but with the second face (though she's not quite looking at the viewer in that pose either.)

I once did a portrait session with a boy during which his dad was present (my mistake). In every shot the boy was looking at his dad, over my shoulder, and not at the camera. I couldn't use the vast majority of poses because of that.

Jan Keeling · 11-22-2006, 02:38 PM

Thanks, Michele. I didn't even think about the gaze in that first pose. Obviously.

Mischa Milosevic · 11-22-2006, 04:18 PM

I agree with Alex on this one (photo two with head from photo three). I would lower the chin if you choose photo three in the pose as Alex suggested, adjust the head, so she is not looking up, rather ahead, as if the window is directly in front.

Richard Monro · 11-22-2006, 07:05 PM

What does this lady want this portrait for? Is she an executive who will have it hang in the corporate office? If so have her look directly at the viewer which will emphasize her authority. For the family fireplace the direction of the gaze is less important.

Chris Saper · 11-25-2006, 08:40 PM

The lighting is just lovely, as are the background and model. I love the simplicity and restraint in the distribution of the values. Because the face and hands are so dramatically light, the placement of the hands is really so important - I think they need to be either together or placed in a way that supports movement within the picture. In the top image, the hands are so far to the right, that there is a bit too much tension, at least for me to feel comfortable. In the lower image the hands read as isolated islands of white, and the splayed fingers are awkward.

I would recommend more photos, paying special attention to the hands. Backing up a bit will help the photo distortion. I think this will be beautiful paintng.

Chris Saper · 11-27-2006, 06:34 PM

Hi Jan,

In the first photo, the hands and head are on roughly the same plane- ie the same distance from the camera. Their relative sizes look convincing.

Look at the second picture, where the hand on our left looks extremely large compared to both the head and the hand on our right. This distortion is pretty dramatic, given that the hand on our left might be as little (or, in fact, as much) as 12" in front of the hand on our right; the distortion comes from being too close to the subject for the lens you are using.

The "portrait" setting refers to aperture, or how large the lens opening is when the shutter is triggered. Aperture controls the depth of field, so that the face can be in focus and the background fuzzy, but doesn't have an impact on the type of distortion in your photo.

Search the Forum for topics like "focal length", or "photo distortion", to try to maximize the quality of photos for the camera you have.