Something doesn't feel right about these...

Hello POTN,

So I've been doing a lot more flash photography recently. I think these pictures themselves are good. I think they're usable and the lighting is okay.

...but something doesn't feel right about them. Tips on how I should approach these two anyone? Shot in RAW.

In the 2nd, she looks surprised/scared. The first isn't too bad, but the left breast looks odd because I can't tell if it was accidental, or intentionally pushed up for a more seductive pose. I think it would have been better with her body turned a bit to her right, and her head slightly rotated to her left. The straight-on view might be making things feel "off".

I think that the lighting makes her bust look unbalanced.

Judging from the upper half of the cleavage, I don't know that light is responsible...and if it is, I'll purchase that particular lighting setup for my own personal use

Facial expressions do not do much for me.

Did you use negative clarity on the 2nd (color)? Too much if you did.

yeah, the 2nd pic is very grainy compared to #1 which is nice and sharp

yeah I agree .... either both up or both down, looks weird otherwise

Dave

Her breasts just sat that way. A bit uneven. What I'm referring to that doesn't "feel right" in my eyes has nothing to do with her or the lighting.

In the second pic, I was going for a bit of a surprised hipster-y kind of look. And yes, there is a bit of a negative clarity, but only about -6 I think. I'll try bringing it down a bit.

I think I've figured it out though. The lows and low-mids are noisy. I'm a bit dumb. I'd like the sharpness back in there. How does one go about that without it looking weird or grainy?

quadwing wrote in post #16295889
Her breasts just sat that way.

Still don't "feel right" in my eyes.

There's no rule that you have to sharpen everything? Selection for sharpening illustration.

I think the problem with something seeming off, is the light is too low. There is no shadow under the chin and that is why the breast looks off with the under lighting. The catch lights are slightly below center and the point on her right lip has an odd shadow from the lower than what we are used to light.

She has her arms squeezed tightly against her torso which is making her figure look blocky, preventing her arms from showing their actual shape, contorting her breast, and giving her an overall tense feel.

The very contrasty lighting was not appealing to me personally. I realize this is probably by design but it made a very attractive model look much less attractive. I softened the photo a little. Here is an example, slightly over done.

Byte size: ZERO | Content warning: NOT AN IMAGE

What ISO was used?

spur wrote in post #16297214
I think the problem with something seeming off, is the light is too low. There is no shadow under the chin and that is why the breast looks off with the under lighting. The catch lights are slightly below center and the point on her right lip has an odd shadow from the lower than what we are used to light.

Ding ding ding, agreed. The main light is too low, causing a shadow on top of her breast, and her nose to be lit from underneath. That's why they look unnatural, because the light is coming from an unnatural direction.