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Magica-28 — Biting Cold
Published: 2012-05-02 01:36:02 +0000 UTC; Views: 1670; Favourites: 45; Downloads: 26
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Description
I miss winter. It's my favorite season.
CREDITS
Model: [link]
Background: [link]
Ice: [link]
Related content
Comments: 8
Not sure what happened, was typing a critique and then blammo... it went away... lol
Anyway, start with a logical and orderly process for this critique.
Theme - great theme, really original, technique is wonderful, high impact. However, there is one "hold back" in the positive nature of this critique - that is the fact that the model is wearing an off the shoulder sleeveless shirt/blouse/dress. While I don't see any goosebumps, it gives me the feel that she's been pasted into the background. Mind you, she's lovely and her character matches the theme, just seems to me that it takes away a tiny bit from the theme, but not wholly.
Look - excellent look, catches the eye right away, lovely model, and well put together. Normally I'd say that your handle/DA address is too large, but in the environment you've developed it's actually not too bad. You don't want it distracting from, or retracting from the photo itself, so my suggestion there would be to produce a smaller label for it.
Interpretation - when I look at this photo, it makes me feel like I want to wrap her up in a warm blanket and help her solve the mysteries in her life. Makes me want to sit in front of a warm fireplace, with a nice drop of Scotch, while watching her warm up. The interpretation of this picture matches the title very well.
Technical points - the model fits very well into the background. Her hair is supremely lovely, skin tone is great - I actually like the blotchiness on her arm, fits with the theme very well. Very well focused, the lighting and coloring all match very well. Technically it really fits the concept extremely well. Job well done. Again, my biggest critique is the nameda part, I would make it less noticeable, so it doesn't take away from the lovely model.
Artistic points - gives me sort of a feel for a CD or album cover. Kind of reminds me of a Fleetwood Mac/Stevie Nicks cover. The colors are very well done, I mean this photo caught my attention right away, so I give you 5 stars for artistic points. The crop at first kind of set me back but after a lingering look, I really enjoyed the way she looks compared to her background. It does look like she's there, maybe walking down a pathway beside the forest. She almost looks frozen in place; now if that was your target, it's not quite there, she looks just too alive for that. If it's more of a "surviving the bitter wind" theme, then it fits perfectly.
Good points vs. bad points - normally I'd split that up but realistically I love the way you put this together and the only downside I have is that label. Some might give you more negative feedback on the crop, but personally I think this is a brilliant work. The model fits the theme, the construction fits the crop, the lighting and colors work extremely well with her appearance, skin tones are very well done, saturation in my opinion is perfect, I wouldn't adjust brightness or contrast not one little bit.
Overall, 5 stars from me. Extremely well done in my opinion. Your model is lovely, the theme is very attractive, and all put together it's definitely and eye catcher!
VERY WELL DONE!
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No, the background is needed as is to hold that theme. It's really well done. Looking back on it, I might have given just the lightest bit of blue hue to her lips, something like adjusting the color temp cooler, not adding in any blues. And only the lips, the rest of her is perfect.
The item in the crop that pulls at my eye is actually the umbrella. I think I'd have grayed it just a tad, and maybe softened the silver metallic appearance of the arms on the umbrella, you know the pieces that hold it open. I don't know, maybe softening the look of the umbrella, or adding a hint of frost to it? Either way it's not enough to be truly distracting, but you did ask for a critique and when I do offer them I walk through everything in the image, soup to nuts.
Personally, the way you did the hair fits this semi-frozen look so perfectly! The frosty patches on the skin fit well too. At first, I thought the umbrella was wet and frozen until I clicked on the image and expanded it outward. When it's smaller it looks kind of frozen over, but when you expand it, the texture gives off sort of an alien feeling, alien as in not really connecting to everything else in the image. Again though, it's not enough to be distracting, it's just me being OCD and eagle-eyeing your image.
Again, overall it's a 5 star piece of work to me.
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Thanks very much for your critique. What is it about the cropping that bothers you? Do you think more of the background should have been visible? I was on the fence about whether or not to cut out as much of it as I did, but overall I felt this looked better. I wasn't going for a 'frozen in place' look, but not fully alive either. More like she was in the process of becoming frozen, hence the ice/frost (or at least I'm hoping that's what it looks like) on her arm, and also faintly on her face. Very relieved to hear you liked how I did her hair though, drawing hair in is a new thing for me that I'm practicing on.
I will at least shrink the watermark, possibly not by much but I guess a little is better than none.
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Gorgeous work!!
I love the frosty theme and it's done beautifully!
Thank you so much for using my stock again!
Hugs
- Maria
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this is beautiful 
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