DmitryElizarov on DeviantArthttps://www.deviantart.com/dmitryelizarov/art/Babe-in-black-1-439226629DmitryElizarov

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Babe in black #1

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© Dmitry Elizarov
www.dmitryelizarov.com

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Babe in black #2 by DmitryElizarovGifted #1 by DmitryElizarovGifted #2 by DmitryElizarovCall for dance by DmitryElizarovItch for love by DmitryElizarovBlack swan by DmitryElizarov
Image size
667x1000px 307.45 KB
Make
NIKON CORPORATION
Model
NIKON D7000
Shutter Speed
1/180 second
Aperture
F/4.0
Focal Length
50 mm
ISO Speed
100
Date Taken
Mar 4, 2014, 1:19:38 PM
© 2014 - 2024 DmitryElizarov
Comments19
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:star::star::star::star: Overall
:star::star::star::star::star: Vision
:star::star::star::star-half::star-empty: Originality
:star::star::star::star-half::star-empty: Technique
:star::star::star::star::star-half: Impact

I thought "Wow!" when I saw this. It's one of the best portrait shots I've seen; top 1% easily, and I normally don't like skinny models in poses that look even slightly contorted. The two of you have made it work.

As you've asked for critiques, in my opinion:

The lighting is just about perfect, with her legs, right hand, and face all center-lit and framed nicely with shadowed edges. The back of her left arm and shoulder blade is a little over-exposed, but that would have been difficult to provide with a rear-edge shadow outside of Photoshop or by using three main lights (for face, arms, and legs). Given that you've only used one, the over-exposure could have been lessened by positioning the light about three times farther away from the model (but still at the same angle, and using a slower exposure time rather than a wider aperture). If you don't have a high enough light stand and ceiling, you can sometimes simulate a distant main light by aiming a narrow spotlight at a white ceiling so the light scatters and bounces back onto the model at the angle you want.

You've composed it excellently, as it would haven't worked as well if you'd taken it from any other angle, horizontally or vertically. It would have been better if you'd pulled back a bit to show more of her legs, just down far enough to see a small gap open up between them, so cutting off just above her knees. That would have created more edges to her body, and having the bottom of the picture show two thin legs (rather than a 'fat' overlapping of those legs) would have balanced with the thinness of the rest of the picture. But if you'd done that, you might have had to provide more space above her head to keep her eyes proportionately where they are now in the frame (they're already slightly higher than they should be, so you wouldn't want them to rise farther).

The right side of her jacket has a black rectangle that I guess is a pocket. The shot would have been considerably better if you'd removed it (either in Photoshop or by unpicking the stitches). Without it, the semi-transparent lighting through the jacket would have given her right lower-torso a continuous, clearly defined edge.

Similarly, it would have been good to pull the left side of her jacket just a few cm's farther to her left. That could have been achieved by folding and pinning the left hem of the jacket back on itself, so it would appear to be the same width as the foreshortened right hem. If the left hem had been half as wide, and if you'd told her to use her left arm to pull the jacket around more, the light through the semi-transparent jacket would have clearly defined the left edge of her torso and her butt. You could even have put a small light directly behind her aimed to slightly boost the amount of light going through her jacket, thereby emphasizing her torso more. You'd want it to be subtle though, at least four f-stops dimmer than the main light.

There are a few minor details that could have been arranged slightly better, mostly to do with her hands:

* The right hand's metallic zip intrudes a lot. Dull black masking tape is good for covering intrusive bits of metal.

* The left sleeve should have been pulled back so her lower forearm was exposed, to balance with her right arm and generally bony body. Small bulldog clips are good for holding clothing back. That would have helped emphasize the line of her back too (as it is, that line is hard to see because the line of that sleeve across the back of her hand is more dominant.

* Either her right hand should have been held just a cm farther away from her upper-arm, to create a small gap, or it should have been placed on her right shoulder. The "one fingertip barely overlapping with her arm" position doesn't fit the rest of the pose. Whichever choice you made, ideally she would have raised her elbow sufficiently for the light coming through the jacket to silhouette at least the underside of her right breast, or better still, her entire breast. As it is now, her breast and upper-arm have created a featureless block of black. You wanted to emphasize the slimness of her body, not make it look wider than it is.

* Nail polish. Even just gloss to bring her fingertips alive (they're dead as they are now). Pale blue would work and matched the background color, but I would have gone with pale pink if it could have been matched with similar lipstick, but both would have to be very pale because you don't want color to intrude into this shot.

* The curl of hair behind her left ear would have looked better if it had dangled down similar to the strand beside her right ear, for symmetry. The shot is about lines as much as anything.

* Speaking of which, there's a small vertical white line just below her left hand. I guess it's the edge of the zip handle, but whatever it is, it's distracting. It should have been removed.

* I would have pulled the right side of her shirt's bottom hem up to create a cm or two of flesh on her right hip, for balance with the left. As it is now with her panties and shirt overlapping, you've lost her right hip entirely.

* It's probably an artifact of the resolution you've posted the picture at, but the black vertical line in the center of her cleavage and the shadows to either side of it look as if they've been painted in with Photoshop. If they have, I suggest you blur their edges.

In general, more attention on making sure that her body's silhouette was defined all the way around would have improved the shot, in my opinion. But despite my long, nit-picking list, the shot is EXCELLENT as it is. Congratulations on it.