Critique for Dave G
This is Dave's critique from our recent workshop with Carla Monaco in the woods.
Nice use of triangular shapes in the composition, from both Carla and the tree roots. The light here has the nice combination of sunshine and dappling. The hand on knee is slightly awkward and could have been tidied up a bit in the posing.
While the overall structure of this image is sound I'm not so happy about the light across the face, it has left some difficult shadows and highlights. I would also be tempted to put in a slight warming tone to the image.
I really like the angle and framing of this shot. I think it could have been improved a lot by work on carla's floaty skirt. The folds and fall are at odds with the angle. For me I would have pulled the skirt higher up the leg, so the leg could have formed a stronger leading line and taken some of the focus off the feet. I would also have let it fall much more down to the floor so it was more deliberately at odds with the lines of the trunk.
I wasn't sure at the time and I'm not sure now whether this is interesting or just obscure! :)
The bit that troubles me the most though is that Carla is posed, not walking, and it seems to me this needed to have been more natural. I also think this would work better in monochrome.
Smashing shot, wood nymph basking in sunshine. Maybe crop some of the right hand edge off. There are also a couple of shadows, particularly on the legs, that I would clone out as they are a bit distracting.
Exposure wise this has gone a little dark I think. Compositionally the problem is that the lines of the main trunk, Carla and the background trees are all at odds with each other. There is probably a much better shot as a tighter crop.
Like the flow of this image. Swapping the bent leg so it was the rear leg would have been better. There's a bit of nothing on the left, a tighter crop would help. I also think a more contrasty monochrome would be good.
Overall, a bit more attention to the posing and looking at the overall structure of the image. Basically you are there, just need to pay attention in the details.
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