Sultry
- Thread starter Pitter
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- Tim
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You have a great subject, a background and some light. The crop helps, though for a number of reasons the shot is not what it could be. Facial expression is more akin to (ok I'll humour the photographer for another five mins) than sultry. The lighting is neither flattering or creatively executed to result in an end product which provides a really engaging viewing experience. Some areas look under exposed, the general impression I get is that it's a go with the flow execution rather than done with some real intent. You have the elements and it's what you deliberately do with them which will make a shot like this stand out or otherwise. It looks sharp enough and the DOF has your whole subject sufficiently in focus.
OP
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Thank you for the critique. To to answer some of the criticisms (but not refute them) the lighting was daylight from a window on her left, there weren't any additional creative options open that I saw. As to "go with the flow" no I didn't dally, she was not enthusiastic about being photographed, one and two she has braces and absolutely wouldn't smile. I think there is a steadfastly hard look to her expression that is unusual. As to "real intent" it was to get her to let me get a few snaps before refusing more...so there you have it, crit right on the money.
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I think the crop loses the really nice way the hair drops over the right arm but I agree about the hand, it needed a better pose. I'm not sure the lighting works, perhaps a little fill with a reflector would have helped and is that crop top thats pulled up?
She's not sultry but I read that as annoyed with you, you can see it in the eyes and then reading your description above I can see why. It's the photographers ability to put a mode at rest that gets the best images so that involves 'the chat', putting the subject at their ease.
I can understand the braces, but it's the eyes that say a lot. She can smile without showing her teeth/braces at which point the eyes will have that sparkle.
She's not sultry but I read that as annoyed with you, you can see it in the eyes and then reading your description above I can see why. It's the photographers ability to put a mode at rest that gets the best images so that involves 'the chat', putting the subject at their ease.
I can understand the braces, but it's the eyes that say a lot. She can smile without showing her teeth/braces at which point the eyes will have that sparkle.
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- Tim
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I'm sure many of us have experienced less than ideal circumstances and I certainly find issues with many of my own shots when working with some subjects which serves very well to keep me on my toes and help me appreciate the better images when they happen. The wonderful things is that when we put our images on a platform such as this, the photographer posting the image gets credited with how all aspects of the shot come across, as there is a loose expectation that we just work around such trifles and still come away with something akin to perfection. Finding the flaws and having them highlighted has certainly sharpened my own approach and helps me get good shots which are better than the OK they might have been without having had the generosity of other folks taking their time to point out where images I've created fall short.
It's pretty useful to work with the very subtle shaping of feature which actually convey mood in the human face so that one can if inclined tweak the tiny things to make them deliver more of the desired look.
Your models expression is not a million miles off being sultry. A little more uplift to parts of the mouth and a tiny bit more sparkle to the eyes, a little widening of eye corners and some toning can change an expression by a fair bit.
I've not been overly scientific with this but it shows how small alterations can have a big impact. If all else fails, remember such things can be very subjective
View attachment 113999
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I've not been overly scientific with this but it shows how small alterations can have a big impact. If all else fails, remember such things can be very subjective
I know you meant well, but the user has got 'Edit my Images' set to no.
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Your'e absolutely right my mistake. Don't know why I never spotted it. Have removed image and offer my sincere apologies. Will happily accept any sanction arising from my well intended error.
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LOL I doubt thats needed. Easy to miss
