So I am trying to revamp my portfolio to include more items that are "Social Friendly"
Here is one for today… it is from an older shoot with a great model. Nice to work with pro's … they will up your game and force you to be a better photographer.
I would love to hear some opinions – thou I am not afraid of a plus 1 – I would really appreciate a few words from those that see the shot and can let me know what they like or dislike about it….
What do you like to see in the Genre of Lingerie? Glamour, swimsuit? etc.. I need some shoot ideas and I am happy to take suggestions…
I like the natural seeming light in it… I like the interesting mirror in the background… I have to wonder what the model is doing up on the back of a chair, though 😉
staring at me… +Steve Boyko
I think part of me gave up on trying to make sense of poses in some cases…. thanks for taking a minute to comment…
OK here goes, the pose is awkward, there are no lines. always try to get a pyramid in the poses. the light is harsh and not flattering, and the backdrop is scattered. try to keep the eye on the model and less on objects. other than that, its a nice shot…:)
First things first.
I always start with what I see, before I move to judgment/critique.
I see a healthy looking youngish woman, wearing a couple of strips of black, which function a little like censorship marks. I wonder what she's doing.. who she's being.. and why she's in that lightly elegant setting in cloth that has little to do with the setting. I see her very consciously looking at me with some expectation, or question, as if waiting for approval or instruction. That can mean a few things; that works for the viewer to add his/her own meaning, but I'm not sure it gives enough meaning to get me started interpreting.
I am assuming, rightly or wrongly, without going into your other work, that the scenario is "photography of a beautiful woman", so.. no story needed, or excuse for her being there. In that genre, if I can call it a genre, it fits.
If I am looking for an image of a powerful woman or person or narrative, then I'm already moving on, and would have totally forgotten this except for the fact that I chose to respond to your query about feedback. NOW I'll remember it, but probably not the way you intended.
It may well be "social friendly", but I suspect this effort robs you of your usual mission, re: photographing beautiful sexy women. I will also say that some of my favorite glam/lingerie shots have elements of implied story in them.
The elements of the photo, besides her, are
1) the soft, directional, form delineating, warm colored, fairly natural looking Lighting,
2) that high key set, with her perched, as Steve noted, on the furniture; it's natural for a set like that to have lots of light from a large patio doorway or windows, from the side, instead of strictly overhead.
and..
3) the cloth and shoes.
The shoes are at least consistent with the set.
The light, as I noted, does look somewhat elegantly natural; the natural look is consistent with the typically uneven lighting in typical rooms, as it is hot on her feet, and has her melting into the cushion.
Her hair is also inconsistent with the setting, as it is on the careless side of casual, and not stylistically coiffed to suit elegance, Or truly styled to ("I'm naughty") "buck" the elegance she's in.
Your statement about "giving up" on posing.. is a telling one. What else did you give up on to make/post this image? As a pro model, she did, indeed, call you up to greater things.. I suspect your work may have already moved beyond the steps up that you took in making this older image. We All get to keep creating challenges for ourselves. Kudos on that, and on your willingness to ask for feedback.
I say feedback, since I fully believe that most critique is useless without (Much more information about specific intended image use, or specific technical details. In other words, I don't support the "thumbs up/thumbs down model of responding to another artist's work.)
)I have only cursorily reveiwed this before posting, so I apologize for any confusing sentences or typos, in advance. Feel free to ask what I meant, if I wasn't clear.)
I suspect that as often happens the lossy jpeg format has beaten the crap out of the image. The highlights get blown and the shadows get harsher than in the raw file. Although I like the pose, whatever she is sitting on looks a bit awkward.
For other ideas, I like to see extreme close-up showing different textures – fabric v skin, hair v fabric, lace on silk, etc.
Gorgeous!