raw adjustments: color temperature and tint, exposure compensation.
crop
hue/saturation
color balance
guassian blur several times (layers+layer masks) for soft focus effect
curves
shadow/highlight
I was actually playing the flute:) not the sonata, but The Morning by Grieg.
decrescendo.
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thank you thank you so much for your wonderful comments!!
Statistics
Place: 28 out of 105 Avg (all users): 6.3625 Avg (commenters): 7.8500 Avg (participants): 6.3396 Avg (non-participants): 6.3690 Views since voting: 6947 Views during voting: 612 Votes: 240 Comments: 28 Favorites: 3 (view)
Let me start off with congratulations on your new personal best score. You've done a wonderful job composing and setting a mood in this image. However, there are a few items that might have kept this image from scoring higher.
First, soft focus is a tough sell at DPC but it does help set the mood in this image. Second, the lighting on the hands distracts from the overall impact of the image. The hands just happen to fall in front of the brightest part of the window and are almost in silhouette. This makes it difficult to see the fingers and in turn, looks a little odd. Adding to the silhouette distraction is the angle of the flute. With the end of the flute being closer to the camera than the mouthpiece, the hands look abnormally large in this lighting. If the whole flute was in the same plane as your face, it might have helped the lighting and provided better balance in the image (Although you might not have been able to actually play the flute after changing the angle, it still would have looked like you were). One other issue for some voters is the use of nudity. The nudity here is very tasteful and brings artistic merit in this image but it really doesn't relate well to an "Occupation" challenge.
Taking a look at your portfolio, I predict that I will be seeing your image on the front page sometime in the near future. You have a very artistic style and all you need is for the right challenge to come along for you to ribbon.
Feel free to PM me if you have any questions regarding this critique.
Svetlana,
This is lovely. The blues really enhance the mood (did you use a tungsten filter?) I might like to see more sharpness in subject, but understand the soft effect was most likely deliberate. Another great entry! And look at those scores from commenters!
I really enjoy this concept, yet, just feels like there is something missing for it to really go over the top. Maybe the inconsistancy of sharpness vs. softness of the focus. Maybe the black levels as well could use a slight tweak.
This is very beautiful -- the composition, lighting, and color. I understand what you are doing with the focus, soft except for the face and flute, but I think I would like it better if th girl was in sharper focus. 9
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