Z.J. Diary

[xavier_xw]

took this shot last Saturday, after several shots with nice, normal composition, I decided to go a little across the line, and "cut" part of her arm and leg away, hence this one.

After I got home that day, I found this shot was one of the best, in my opinion. Added with her expression, this tilted and weirdly composed photo looks more alive than the other "normally" shot ones.

As for the title, her expression reminds me of poster from the movie "B.J.'s Diary", since her name is Z.J. - why not changing one letter?

critiques on composition, color, as well as any other aspects you feel worth improving, are all welcome,

Thank you all!

[calebk]

I really see nothing constructive in cutting off part of her arm (that's still not too bad), but also cutting off her right leg at the knee. If you're going to cut off limbs, make sure it's motivated and that it doesn't cut off at the limbs, because it's very disturbing to the viewer.

I feel that it's perhaps a tad too overcontrasty. The exposure difference between the highlights and her skin tone is massive. The mass of highlights on the top right corner is terribly glaring and distracting. There's also some distraction in the twig and leave next to her left leg, right below the typography.

Good job on the expression and the use of leading lines though, but perhaps not cutting off the limbs might have worked a little better.

[melvdesigns]

i like this photo and i feel that it was okay to cut off the limbs here...

and i disagree that the twig and the leave is a distraction, to me, it looks perfectly in place considering the background and 'run-down' steps.

however, i feel that her expression is a little weird. i think i roughly know what kind of an expression u were hoping to achieve. probably it will be better if she looked upwards a little with a more natural expression of the same kind?

just my 2cents.

[xavier_xw]

Originally Posted by calebk I really see nothing constructive in cutting off part of her arm (that's still not too bad), but also cutting off her right leg at the knee. If you're going to cut off limbs, make sure it's motivated and that it doesn't cut off at the limbs, because it's very disturbing to the viewer. I feel that it's perhaps a tad too overcontrasty. The exposure difference between the highlights and her skin tone is massive. The mass of highlights on the top right corner is terribly glaring and distracting. There's also some distraction in the twig and leave next to her left leg, right below the typography. Good job on the expression and the use of leading lines though, but perhaps not cutting off the limbs might have worked a little better.

Originally Posted by melvdesigns i like this photo and i feel that it was okay to cut off the limbs here... and i disagree that the twig and the leave is a distraction, to me, it looks perfectly in place considering the background and 'run-down' steps. however, i feel that her expression is a little weird. i think i roughly know what kind of an expression u were hoping to achieve. probably it will be better if she looked upwards a little with a more natural expression of the same kind? just my 2cents.

Thanks a lot for these valuable suggestions!

actually, when I took the shot, I didn't notice the twig and leave there, then later I didn't think they were distracting either. but I will pay attention to these details in future,