Elena

I like this very much. It's a compelling portrait. I like the placement of the woman. It would look very different without the line around her shoulder, hard to say better or worse but it would be a very different portrait, with more emphasis on her face and neck. I like it as it is, it makes a change from the more conventional set-up. For me the tones work very well.

Cate

Great image, good technical choices, very effective photograph.

Many thanks for its valuable commentaries. In order to be able to see the original photo, without the burned one, they can go to my page

http://www.apug.org/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=4540

I guess the question is--would you have burned in the background if it had been darker in the first place, or did you particularly want this halo effect? I find it kind of surreal and interesting, and works for me in a kind of quirky way, even if it wasn't part of your original intention.

I don't know if you wanted the texture of the background to be visible or not, but I've found the best cure for an unwanted wrinkly background is a wider shooting aperture, which will throw the wrinkles out of focus.

I have just had a look at the burned and unburned pictures. I think your burned picture, is brilliant by comparison.
I also think that we should remember that we are looking at a scanned picture and my very limited scanning (recently bought Aldi cheap scanner) has told me that you nearly always get a contrast lift when you scan a B&W print.
I think your original print, would have a much better halo around Elena.
Mick.

I find the halo intentionally, I tried to copy the effect that J.L. Sieff gave in some photos of the years 70-80.

http://www.jeanloupsieff.com/

You can specially see it in the landscapes, in the line of the horizon. But also in some portraits. Although in its photos the effect was greater

A fine portrait of a beautifull model, I like the quality of this photo.
Shame about the outline of the burned in background, its not too obtrusive so I wont say any more about it.
Nice photo, well done.