I don't mean to be a wet blanket... but all this "right on--yeh way to go" gets old.
I am seasoned coming up on some 30 years of paying work (I realize I don't know your backgrounds)
Anyway... it is nice..
Can be impoved... here is how;
--- that shadow from the nose is not very flattering, as is the head shadow distracting on the shoulder.
--- I would either lower the light, or diffuse the light source a bit so the shadow is not so hard.
---To the creator, if you are happy and this is exactly what you wanted... cheers to you.
---If you are looking for an honest critique of your work.. I just gave you my opinion.
--- I feel the model is "projecting" to much attitude... I look for the "inner smile" I know there is not always an "inner smile"
Anyway cheers to all.. I hope you all take my "critiques" as professional observations from a very seasoned student of photography and pracicioner of the craft of image making,
Cheers, VPW. Appreciate the candor and thought behind your comments.
Before I made this exposure, I asked Alyssa to "imagine that you're with a friend, and you know a secret that you're not going to spill". She gave me what I asked for. The low camera angle and lighting were by design.
Whether it's a successful portrait or not is for each person to decide, but as a novice at studio portraiture I'm tickled that I managed to get across something that I was actually trying for!
Forget formulaic approaches to photography, that's old school. I remember how they bashed Avedon for cutting off the tops of people's heads. Whether she is showing too much attitude or not, I love her expression. Careful lighting makes for a certain kind of photo, but there are more ways than one to create pictures. This picture may not get a great response at a camera club competition, but it gets my vote for charming and most important, not boring! BTW I got my first paying job in photography after school in 1963.