Portrait

I llike this very much.

There is a light patch of something in the fore ground perhaps you could darken that.

If I was to nit pick for a very nice print, then the arm and hand could be a shade or two darker as well as the near top of the breast. Leaving the chest, neck and face as they are.

With the exception of the elbow just missing, your cropping is beautiful. I could though live with the elbow just out.

All in all, if you can continue with this model in this vein, the two of you should be able to create some very good pictures.

Mick.

hi john

i like this a lot too.
the eyecontact is great!
for me, the only suggestion i would make would be to burn down the top right and bottom left corners a little bit -- it would frame her and obscure everything else around her ..
then again, i kind of like it the way you have presented it

john

Lovely portrait and agree with John, just a slight burn in the corners. Also, have you thought about printing it on warmer paper?

Nice to see your shots, John! This really is very nice.

Just a few thoughts, in addition to the slight print tweaks you've already received. Although her body position looks comfortable (not easy given that she's lounging on bricks!) her eyes and forehead look reluctant. That's not necessarily a bad thing; just depends on your goal. I would suggest that taking a slight little step to your left would have caused the model to look slightly up at you, enlarging her eyes and deemphasizing the strong jaw line just slightly.

The light was used very nicely, and I'm glad to see the heavy midtones, something that is often lacking in the prints I see.

Bob says hi.

- CJ

Thanks to everyone who provided comments and suggestions. I'll be working on this print in the darkroom - will burn in the top right & lower left, and nudge the upper edge a bit to include the elbow.

Suzanne,
I've never worked with different papers. I may try that too. Thanks.

The tonal range in the face is absolutely marvelous. I'd play around with slight changes including burning the corners and cropping as others have suggested to see if improvements could be made, but this is a very nice natural rendition too. Love it.

Joe

Joe,
Thanks very much for your encouragement.

A beautiful, sensitive portrait!

Thank you, Gary.