Ellen

Very nice shot of Ellen. A very attractive young lady, and your photograph of her is is a winner.

I feel like the brunch want to reach down and pat her back. Well done.

Only thing I don't like is the dark line in the background. A little bit distracting.

Alex W.

Thanks for your comments.
About the dark line in the background (which is a mountain). I tried to crop it in the darkroom (I didn't noticed it when I took the photograph), but it feels like the branches become too "weak" then.

/ Marcus

Marcus, I tried to block the line at the background, I agree with you the brunch became kind of weak.

Agreed... not sure cropping helps, maybe when printing there's a way to make that dark line less distracting. Wonderful portrait, otherwise. I love her body language, and the trees branches seem to be dancing above her.

I like what you have done, but the dark mountain was the first thing my eye went to. Have you thought about cropping just under the dark mountain and gently burning from the top to about half way to end of the lowest branch? My thought is a graduation from lightest area along the beach and water to the top of the frame. By doing this you would
drive the viewers eye lower into the main subject and kind of trap the eye inside of the brightest and most important area that, of your beautiful model.

This one does not work as well for me as your other portraits have. I think it is because the branch and leaves compete with your daughter, instead of working with her. "Cropping" on my screen, I find it works much better for me as a square (cropped all from the top.)

And I am guessing that she is looking at you standing next to the camera, rather than at the lens. As the viewer, this (combined with the pose) makes me feel more like an interlopper rather than engaged with the subject.

Vaughn

PS edited to add "not" in the first sentence.

Thanks all for your thoughts. I may test to remove the mountain and darken the top as Charles suggest.

/ Marcus