I'm curious why you went with such a lighting setup? I only ask since from your regular posts you usually have a good ability for broad soft lighting. I think you were going for more aggressive light to reflect the aggressive mood of the shot? To me it looks like they're fighting but the title makes me think more like they're embracing for a kiss? In either case, I personally dont think the lighting worked out well (and I dont like the bald spot on the back of the head)
Thanks to you two. Corvee, this is a pool table. I worked with the above available light that seemed adapted to the overall conflictual mood of the shot
Looks like a very forced shot, her hand on the back of his head gives away her motivation (that this is just a pose with no real feeling). The shadows on her face do not flatter her. Skintones are not so good...
I don't really know why you post here all the time fb, you don't evolve or improve. What is your motivation? If you don't post to better yourself, I'm left thinking that you are just posting to get your ego stroked.
I like the shot, but i see a few things that could be tweaked to make it stronger. The out of focus tattoos and armband take away from the shot for me. Bringing the focus point closer would help.
Look at the back arm of the girl on the left, it is in focus, by bringing the focus point forward and allowing the back arm to blur I think the shot would have been stronger
The shadow detail on the face needs show work as well. I agree with another poster the pose is a little forced.
This shot has the potential to be very strong and would be worth reshooting if that is possible,
Interesting shot...the pool table just seams out of place. Maybe if one of them was laying on it or something. Also...the reflection on the chrome strip is very annoying to my eye.
We ALL evolve. Improvement is a matter of taste. Even if you didn't evolve or improve, your work is good enough, in my humble opinion, to help some of us get better and evolve.
So please keep the posts coming, and hopefully those without beneficial feedback will keep it mostly to themselves
Oh and I agree with the others, expanded the focal depth to included the tatoo or tighten the shot to only expose/light their faces and hands.
Haven't seen your work for quite a while and this looked pretty different to me, personally I find the OOF areas distracting which takes my eye away from the point of interaction. This could be a powerful study, i think it just needs more work.
I thought the point of contributing to posts was to provide comments that may encourage the contributor to fulfill his/her potential.. not give up and go home, maybe the previous poster is trying a novel tack to shock you into taking a new direction!
If some small part of his comments hit home then ..as the saying goes.. 'if the cap fits wear it'
personally I enjoy your work and find it a refreshing change from the glamour shots.
CarminaF comment does not seem to be evidenced based. There has definitely been an evolution over time. I think there may be some confusion between consistency and evolution.
I strongly disagree with CarminaF's comments, Francois. I really don't understand them. If she thinks you don't evolve or improve, that's fine. She's certainly entitled to her opinion. However, suggesting you only post for your own ego seems just plain silly. I've learned much about lighting, composition, and conveying emotion from studying your work. I very much appreciate your presence here. I've chased your images around the web. I see much evolution and improvement. You have your own style, but it's never static
I like the DOF in this photo. My eyes are led from lower right to upper left into what I believe was the intended focal point of the model's faces. The positioning of the arms makes me wonder who the aggressor is, the model on the left or the model on the right? Maybe it's both. For me, that's what I like most about your work. It's very thought provoking and emotional. As always, your use of light intensifies the emotional aspects.
I freely admit a strong bias in favor of your art. I enjoy reading others' critical comments about your work provided the criticisms have a rational basis. I learn from that also.
I think the out of focus areas are distracting as well. The light is interesting, but the posing isnīt all that IMO. Donīt want to sound like a broken record, but Iīd really like to see this taken further, or to have a little more honesty. Reminds me of a a photoshoot from the austin powers movie (grrr, like a cat! yeah baby yeah!)
Only the title is less clear for me:"U belong 2 me" is strong and the pic also .. but who belongs to who? I mean that the title make met think that there is a clear hierarchy between the two, and on the picture this is not so.
Please don't see this as a critique, but I think that your talent and those 2 models could produce a picture that fits better the title.
Anyhow, that is not intended to be a comment on the picture itself. I love it.
