thanks to my roomie for sitting around and letting me take random pictures of her. oh, and letting me borrow her camera, too. she is here.
desk lamp bounced off a piece of whiteboard. actually kind of her idea; she wanted a close-up picture of her eyes for facebook/myspace, etc. and i got the idea to redo this picture.
thanks for all the votes and comments...i didn't really use much neat image at all, it was mostly gaussian blur, smudge tool, and airbrush. so yes, her skin is incredibly smooth, but i was kind of going for the glamor shot look.
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When first confronted with this photo, the impact is high, almost visceral, which is always very good. The ripped pieces of paper along top and bottom are an excellent border for such a soft subject, with the brilliant white and torn edges a wonderful contrast to the velvety skin and "rougher" texture of brows and irises. Lighting is excellent, with the catch-light in the eyes a lovely addition. The position of the subject somewhat at the left edge of the frame, whether intentional or as a result of your desire to show the bent-back piece of paper, makes for a very satisfying composition, nicely offsetting the more formalized vertical placement of the subject and foreground.
The model's skin is slightly too post-processed, in my opinion. I believe I can see actual brush strokes where you may have applied smudging or some equivalent brush technique, though this may also be the result of burning an area having uneven tone. In any case, the post-processing is in my view evident, which usually detracts from a photo.
The shadow of the bent-back piece of paper is harsh, cutting off that corner of the image and drawing the eye there, which is not desired. It could be argued, however, that this shadow balances or reflects the somewhat deeper shadow above it, to the right of the model, but for me, it traps the eye.
In many portraits where the eyes are a pertinent feature, selectively sharpening the irises with care and restraint usually produces stunning results. It may have made this photo very dramatic.
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