This time I went to Fraser Hill with her.....

[chunli]

http://www.photomalaysia.com/photography/data/1456/FH-10.jpg

[Grimlock]

Love it.

The only thing that I could critique is maybe the subject is too centralized. (Dead center)

But, I love the variety you have on this one. The outfit and pose is great. And, as always; your lighting and focus is spot on.

[mantra_sone]

The outfit is great, but I'm not sure about the background, I find myself wandering through it and eventually I'm in a back and forth motion between her gaze and the look of a flash lighting up the branches in the corner.

Her gesture with her left hand looks like she's just holding the hijab up. The central position doesn't bother me too much.

[brennasg]

I agree with the centered position..I think if you had less of the bg it would be less distracting. I reall like this though.. I think this is actually one of my faves you have posted:)

[tonydee]

That's a bit scary in some ways... I'd be worried about offending people by mixing a style of headdress that I imagine only the Islamic Malay wear in Malaysia with the naked midriff...? Obviously you'd know a lot more about the issue than I. Certainly a powerfully evocative shot with the mixed messages re modesty and lack thereof. Background works very well for me, though the subject is so compelling I think I'd have preferred a portrait orientation.

Cheers, Tony

[aroundlsu]

I would like to have seen her separated from the background just a touch with a shallow DOF with the intention of drawing more attention to your model instead of the background.

[chunli]

Thank you all for the interesting feedback.......

To tonydee
Good observations. Many muslim females here don't wear the Hijab. Showing too much skin is not encourage here but then in urban areas muslim women here are free to walk around in shorts and tanks. Yes.......the naked midriff can be offending to some. Very thoughtful of you to have propensity for anticipating happiness of others and wishes. Always like your comments and feedback.

Cheers

[obnoxiousmom]

I think its all around a beautiful picture with a beautiful model

[Grimage]

As the focus is on the background, I think she is not really present in the picture. Or I don't know I keep bouncing.. trying to get a 3d image on her but she seems flat and then I get her again.. then she disappears again and I catch myself at wondering on the dimensions of the background.
Alright I made up my mind, I love the background in this image.

[chunli]

Thank you all for the feedback.

Cheers

[Benji]

Excellent white balance and focus.
There are four problems as I see it:
She is posed straight on to the camera.
There is a shadow across her face cast from her veil.
She is holding the flowers like one would hold a sword or club.
The placement of her left arm makes me wonder if she has a toothache. Sharp bends in arms of women should be avoided. The arms should gently flow.
Too great of DOF.

Benji

[chunli]

Thank you Benji for the interesting feedback.

Cheers

[apixelintime]

I really like this one - I wont talk about the technicals as thay have been spoken to. I think it is interesting though that the side that she has the flowers on the bushes in the background appear to be very healthy and the side without the flowers appear to be a little less than healthy. Then the Hijab (modesty) and bare middrif (exhibitation). Flowers (beauty) held like a sword (weapon). This works on so many different levels.

[RMXSeven]

I really like this one - I wont talk about the technicals as thay have been spoken to. I think it is interesting though that the side that she has the flowers on the bushes in the background appear to be very healthy and the side without the flowers appear to be a little less than healthy. Then the Hijab (modesty) and bare middrif (exhibitation). Flowers (beauty) held like a sword (weapon). This works on so many different levels.

Really interesting to look at it that way :)
Was this the intention Chunli?

~Ronen

[chunli]

Thank you all for taking time to share your thoughts on the subject matter……

To be honest…… the part regarding the flowers on the bushes in the background appear to be very healthy and the side without the flower appears to be a little less than healthy was not planned and I did not read it that way until apixelintime pointed it out……. It is a very interesting observation.

The Flowers (beauty) held like a sword (weapon) was not a calculated move. The flowers were brought along to act as a prop and going to a hill resort, I was expecting to see a lot green everywhere and the red colour of the flower is supposed to balance the cool colour of green and to serve as a compositional focus. The colour composition consideration I have in this setup is weak. If I am to repeat this shot again, I would take the pink colour outfit…… I think it will form a stronger compositional focus and Grimage will not be bouncing around the pic…… hahaha.

The outfit, pose, background and central placement were calculated (attempting to use selective focusing consideration) with a hope that it might provide an evocative shot and also an attempt to transfigure the ordinary (blur or bokeh background) ….. The lighting was placed such that it will lit the sitter well but will fall off in intensity to the sides to invite the eye to scan side to side, relishing the subtleties of the background texture and detail…….

Me and my friends did hesitate for awhile when we visited the outfit shop to rent the clothing as the naked midriff may not be so appropriate at a resort 1200m above sea level…… We have another outfit (English country looks….) but that will be depicted in another thread for critique…..

We reserved this outfit to late evening and also by then the rain has stopped. It was very cool and while we were setting up our lights, the sitter sat in the car to warm herself up. We have about an hour left to play around before we must make our move to start our decent from the hill resort (there is only a single track for vehicles to travel up and down). This was one of our main constraints……

From all these interesting and wonderful feedback……I find the inclusion of incongruous elements in this frame have created some tension, drama and a sense of precarious balance in it……

Many thanks once again for all the inputs.

Cheers