I'm not sure if the before and after is obvious enough in this. Hair, makeup, and earrings are the change from one side of face to the other. I'm not entirely sure that submitting a self portrait is a good idea, but I don't want to just sit this week out, so here goes.
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Place: 123 out of 143 Avg (all users): 4.6096 Avg (commenters): 4.0909 Avg (participants): 4.4082 Avg (non-participants): 4.6812 Views since voting: 1524 Views during voting: 377 Votes: 187 Comments: 16 Favorites: 1 (view)
I needed an indication to interpret the image though. I also assume that the right side (of the photo) indicates day make up
and left the night one.
Had I not looked at the details provided by you, I might have
interpreted the portrait part as day and bright, and the negative space and night and black.
:-), But I must congratulate you on thinking and working this out! Wonderful SP too!
My comment is that although I love black and white this would have been better in color where it wouldn't have been quite so subtle.
I have come to realize recently that for a photo to do well here it needs to be really simple and easy to comprehend as many voters are looking at a hundred or more photos in a sitting and give each only a few seconds to sink in before voting.
The voting machine scolded me once, "Please allow the photo to fully load before casting your vote"
In the few photos I have posted here I have found that anything that is not immediatly obvious to the viewers that only a few will actually get. That is not to say that the voters are right, that is just the way it is, and I think some of the great photos from the masters would not do well here.
Looking at some of your other photos I think the scores you received on many are much too low.
I don't think you entry for Best of 2008 was your best. I like most of the other ones you posted better.
"I'm not sure if the before and after is obvious enough in this."
Apparently not. It is very hard to tell. Hope that doesn't deter you - especially from submitting more SPs. You would be a great model in a portrait type challenge.
Bright side: At least you didn't have to sit it out. :) Cheers.
PostLuminous Award WINNER!
too subtle for some, perhaps, but not for me. A beautiful subject (wise choice to do a self portrait here) I love the composition, the pose, the expression, the subtlety of the before/after transition, the question of who/what you are looking at, and the pure black negative space. While some suggest going a bit brighter, which might also look nice, this is fine just as it is--reminds me of the old school masters and the dramatic contrast style they favored.
This was my top favorite in the challenge, and it got a 9 from me.
Thanks for sharing this, and for taking the risk of subtlety here...
I don't get it. Also it looks to me like you may have used a flash in this shot (see heavy shadow under the chin). Perhaps better lighting would have created more interesting shades? Your model does have an intriguing smirk though!
The lips are clearly different. The problems lies with the hair. Without a hair light, it gets lost in the background. Its also covering the eye makeup. I love the expression on your model though.
I was only able to see the differences in makeup after having read the title. The black and white conversion took away from the colour, and also from conveying the before and after.
I am having a hard time seeing if this one meets the challenge. Good photo. It feels a little dark. The lighting seems a little harsh around her jaw. Great model, but her lips don't look uniform, or was that the subtle change?
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