Lovely Haley

[Marie Hass]

I do not have much experience doing portraits, so, please, your C&C are very welcome. I did not do a lot of PP on this, as I wanted her fresh (and freckled) face to show. I did sharpen and contrast just a bit to bring out her freckles.

[speedneeder]

This is a fine shot as it is
If it were mine, I would have wished to do a couple things differently.
One, I would have her wresting her chin on her fist. At least not as hard as she seems to be. I think it squishes her chin a bit.
Two, I would like to have a bit more light in her eyes. This is something I struggle with in outdoor portraits. Did you use anything to help with the ambient lighting? A reflector?

Thanks for posting.

[Marie Hass]

Yep, I did not think of using a reflector. It would have been just the answer. Hmmm, I do see that little squish on the chin....

Thanks for your C&C. I am learning so much from cic's members.

[Geoff F]

To me, you have slightly overdone the sharpening on her face, Marie; I would be tempted to sharpen on a duplicate layer then add a mask and carefully edit with a low opacity soft brush to vary the sharpening effect.

But I do like the overall photo.

[Mario Xavier]

I agree with Geoff. I probably would have done what he recommends to keep the shirt looking softer and slightly reduce the line created on the right side of the arm. It's really not that strong. Her skin still appears soft and complimentary. Her expression is calm. I really like the lighting and I can't even imagine what it would look like.

These guys ARE great huh. I'm learning from them daily. Most of the time I'm quietly browsing and teaching myself to see what they see.

This is far better than what I could have done. I have yet to try a real portrait as taught by Colin on here but I will get there. I'm reading through it. Good work, Marie.

[Marie Hass]

Thanks Geoff and Mario for your comments.

Geoff, I have not done a mask as you recommended. I just enrolled in a course where selective sharpening is introduced. It will be helpful.

Mario, thanks for your encouragement. I am gaining an appreciation of Portraiture as an art unto itself. Colin's tutorials are next on my list. Good luck to you as well.

Marie