[marcinklysewicz]

It's my first try with portrait. Let me know what is wrong.

[Charlotte]

Composition, pose, focus + DoF are all great so that technically the base image is very good, but I would say it's way over-processed. In particular sharpening is OTT and the colours look very strange on my monitor, e.g. her face has a cast which seems to be blue and magenta.

Exposure: Looks like a burst of flash bounced off her hat + forehead. Otherwise exposure looks good.

Her eyes are nice + sharp and she has good eye contact with the camera. I think you got the eyes just right.

I'd suggest toning down her lipstick, because this is the only non-neutral colour in the shot, and because it's red it really stands out a bit too much IMO, thus taking attention away from her eyes, which should be the main point of focus.

Overall, it's a good portrait + the photograph itself is well done, but you were over-zealous with your post-processing. I'd suggest you re-process your original shot with a "less is more" outlook with the pp

Just noticed this: I'd crop a smidgeon off the top to get rid of that tiny dark bit in the top LH corner.

For a first attempt, well done!

[Dabhand16]

My immediate reaction was that the lighting is too direct and there are no shadows to give any modeling to the features on her face. With a portrait this close I think the hand should not be there, this pose would be better with a head and shoulders or whole upper body composition. For a portrait I think it is too sharp - too stark. Keep the eyes as they are but soften the rest a little.

On a positive note there is a lot to like in this picture. The angle of her head, the sharpness of her eyes and the obvious connection she has with the viewer.

I bet this is the furthest you have been away from one of your subjects!

[Rob Barron]

This has definitely got a blue colour cast so I'd adjust that using the colour balance to remove it as she is looking somewhat cyanosed, like she in danger of hypothermia setting in.

For me that's the only thing that really needs changing. The pose and crop are mostly good and there is a lovely strong eye contact. I don't find the hand a problem personally, though I'd prefer the crop a tiny bit lower so that the tip of her finger is in the shot to give it a sense of completeness.

It's a very attractive shot and the lighting has been controlled so there are no burnt out areas, detail evident everywhere including the fur hat. Just adjust the colour balance and you've got a highly creditable first effort.

Cheers,
Rob

[marcinklysewicz]

thank you for your comments - they are very helpful. now i know what to do next time.