mongolian ambassador Photo

Photographer’s Note

on saturday i went out to coex to watch a tourism expo. i had a lot of fun and it was a great day. however i made some critical errors with my photography and as a result, my photographs are terrible. i'm way too embarassed to even admit what i did wrong (no, i didn't accidentally format the camera).

so, disappointed with my photography from the weekend, i have gone back through the shots and of the whole group, i only got maybe one or two i like.

this girl is an ambassador to mongolia. i think that she's a tourism ambassador and goes to all the travel expos around the place.

i liked her clothing and, in particular, her hat.

again, i tried to stay really close and crop just her face.

originally i was going to post a monochrome blue version ... but decided against it. i'll post it as a workshop for your viewing pleasure.

blakitan, thaprem, AMZINCHIA, PixelTerror, andante, danielswalsh, kittyhawk, MLINES has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Ladycat (248) 2006-06-11 8:31

Great close up shot of this beautiful woman. Not such a bad day for photography after all.

TFS,
Anna Liza

droop13400 (113) 2006-06-11 8:31

Salut David,

Je ne suis pas un fou des portraits (sauf de mes enfants)
mais le tien m'attire.
Le cadrage laissant le champ libre pour le regard, la profondeur maitrisée & le sujet. Tout pour faire une belle photo.

Bravo

blakitan (1311) 2006-06-11 8:32

Hi david,
Beautiful girl. Nice smile. Great picture.

Ben Lakitan

naxius (16679) 2006-06-11 8:35

Hi David,
This is a splendid close portrait.
The bokeh is just perfect..
I like her intensive look..
Bravo!
Alex

mhdesbois (0) 2006-06-11 8:41

Hi David,
It's a very very nice portrait. you couldn't get much close ;)
The compo including the pearls just at the border of the frame is very good. very nice shot.
M-H

stewils (481) 2006-06-11 8:44

Great shot...i was going to post one not unlike it.
What was the problem with the rest of them?

vagabondtravels (6103) 2006-06-11 8:50

Great closeup Dave. Very sharp with great detail. Well done.

fkk (1806) 2006-06-11 9:14

Merhaba David;

Oldukca hos bir hatun portretesi
Brovooo...

catman-fatih

jinju (14265) 2006-06-11 9:59

What happened Dave? Was it really yhat bad? Because this shot is pre class. This girl was a striking model and the photo does her justice. Good shooting, seems like nicely controlled exposure and great focus.

jyraya (397) 2006-06-11 10:01

Hi david
i figure if you get at least one great image out of a days worth of shooting then you had a good day.
I like the cropping on this shot. you are right the hat is a great asset to the photo.
well done.

bantonbuju (48626) 2006-06-11 12:13

hi dave,
this is a top notch! i love how close you approach your model, we can see every single detail on her face, gorgeous!
best wishes, j.

AMZINCHIA (1082) 2006-06-11 12:37

David, do not be disappointed, please! This is a gorgeous close-up portrait, with fabulous gold-light on her face and the pearls, very smart focus, and the just-perfect open space on the left side to make the whole image breath through. Good, good job! Cheers, --amz

blue-velvet30 (6524) 2006-06-11 15:01

Hello David!
Fantastic portrait! Excellent colors and POV. Brawo!
thanks for sharing ;-)
regards
Dorota

izmirli (3155) 2006-06-11 15:19

merhaba david smeaton
very nice portrait picture.beautiful lovely girl.lovely colours.thanks for sharing.
best regards.
gürkan akçakır

PixelTerror (86088) 2006-06-11 15:22

Hi David,
A lovely subject framed in an interesting way by the jewelry, good off centering and left bokeh.
Have a nice day,
Jean-Yves

andante (7092) 2006-06-11 16:58

Glad you decided against BW or monochromatic. The clor is a very important element on this image. It adds a touch human warmth which complements with the title. Well done, mate.

Cheers,
Enrique

yanseiler (20) 2006-06-11 18:01

Hi Dave, very nice portrait and color rendering, the sharpness has been well managed, well done...
Kindly
Yan

vapours (7913) 2006-06-11 21:22

Hey David,

A great closeup shot here, love the detail you show on her face, so much so that I feel that I can almost touch it. Love the focus as well.

triptych2003 (1398) 2006-06-11 22:20

yet another nice portrait.. you seem to be getting good at these. not a fan of the workshop tho.. sorry

Angshu (33641) 2006-06-12 4:04

Hi David,
This is a top class! Amazing how close you came to the subject...I can see almose every pore on her face..and great cropping too. I greatly admire the off-centering & the OOF left..
Simply fab.
Regards
Angshu

Izobretenik (1264) 2006-06-12 4:38

Very nice and light bokeh in the background. The colors of this blurred part of your picture are pretty and it enhances this girl's face very effectively. I love the sharpness of your portrait and the eyes are well caught. Very nice !

Izo

pilpel-adom (3016) 2006-06-12 7:24

Very good tight portrait, David!
Good framing of her face with the beads on both of her cheeks...Well done! TONS of details!!
Chen

roamermark (1588) 2006-06-12 8:39

Hi David,
Fiercely tight crop!...I like it a lot..it is a bold choice. I like the colour version far more thean the monochrome as the little bit of background seems to get really wiped out and overexposed looking in the mono version.
Cheers
Mark

Darren (6817) 2006-06-12 14:12

This seems to have done very well, but I will go against the grain and say that I dn't care for it all that much. You are just in way too tight for my tastes. Not only has that cut out an context, even clothing or jewelry has been cropped away, but it is not at all flattering to your subject. Every pore is visible, as is the makeup she has piled on. At the very least, you should have done some softening rather than sharpening (there are a million ways this can be done, check out atncentral.com for some actions to do so). I also find her look/gaze rather ambiguous. She is not looking at you, which is fine, but I don't get the feeling that what she is looking at is all that intriguing to her either. Sorry David, but you have much better shots in your portfolio.

AmiBe (6042) 2006-06-12 17:28

Hi David,
lovely close portrait, the pearls make this shot unusual.
I prefer this one than the blue one.
Very nice expression...
Well done

danielswalsh (13322) 2006-06-12 22:45

Sorry to hear about your 'bad-day' with the camera. God knows we all have them David... haha. (although I'd love to hear what the error was- for chuckles sake)

This shot is excellent. Really good detail and clarity, natural skin tones, I like the tight cropping, having her off center adds to the overall composition- having her look towards the empty space in the frame, and the veil is a nice addition to the image.

Overall- great job David!
- Dan

kittyhawk (1687) 2006-06-15 4:19

Hello David,

This is a very nice portrait. I like the light and detail in the image. I allso like the PoV and the way you captured her. Nice work.

- Halgeir

P.S. Sorry to hear about your little miss hap, keep it in your memrory and learn from it. ( The only advice I have to share...)

s10001in (1485) 2006-06-30 19:46

David Smeaton ,
Beautiful face.
Great close up.

very well done. TFS,
Shailendra