I do think it's nice to see just a friendly straight-on sort of portrait. All the artsy lighting and angles are fine, but yours looks like it does capture her personality. If I knew her, THIS is probably the kind of photo I'd want to have of her....not really an arty sort of one (if that makes sense.)
Technically it seems fine. It's in great focus without being oversharpened or over softened (which I think happens a lot in these kinds of shots.) Lighting is nice and diffused - although it would have been nice to see a little more light in the eyes. And I like the dof, with the blurred background. It would be interesting to see this one in color too. Nice job capturing the image of your lovely wife!
I think this has great appeal, I'm not at all surprised it did well, as it was well taken.
Here's why I find it a pleasant image:
Firstly, your model (wife) has a lovely and open face. It has a friendly, natural feel and that tends to draw viewers in. She looks comfortable, happy, you can see the emotional connection.
I like the use of B&W, it really isolates the subject of the image and gives it more punch, particularly because you have done a nice job with this portrait - the background is blurred well making a great foil for the sharper focus on the face.
I do think that it would be worth a try to use one of those soft focus techniques to give that slightly soft look while keeping the sharp focus you have currently. Sounds like a weird contradiction the way I phrased it - hopefully it makes sense to you!
The use of natural light is great, very few shadows and the ones there add rather than detract. On the other hand, I do agree with the comment about the shirt and its over-exposure, I also think this gives a bit of brightness and foil for the slightly darker tones in her skin so its a bit of a wash. I also think that a different background may be better - only because it is in black & white and any punch from colors or textures can be muted, especially if the background is blurred due to the portrait style.
I think this is a well-executed image, it fits the challenge to a tee, and has a nice emotional impact and investment. Very nice.
It's a good portrait. Not an expert on portrait shots but from what I can tell it doesnt have any shadows on the face, which is good, the eyes are bright and fairly sharp, the skin tones are good, and the pose looks quite natural. I'm curious why you decided on black and white, though. I know b&w can often even out skin tones, but with her bright smile and eyes and such a happy tone of the shot it seems to be screaming out for warm colors.
Nice tonal conversion; I like the closeup, but I am not sure there wasn't a more interesting composition. Also watch for her shirt, which is overexposed.
the subject seems happy to be in this picture, and the subject is in good focus, the coller seemed though to slightly blend in with the subjects blouse...a good picture nonetheless
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