Jane

Okely-dokely [I seriously have no idea, how to correctly spell this one]. How's "dead-ish space" in this one, guys?

I think the dead space would work better if it faded uniformly right to left. As it is, I see a bow-tie of light on the couch which doesn't feel right.

Qbx wrote in post #18387505
I think the dead space would work better if it faded uniformly right to left. As it is, I see a bow-tie of light on the couch which doesn't feel right.

I agree. It doesn't work for me. It feels overly dark on the subject.

Same here. too dark and the bow-tie effect looks like we're peeping through binoculars at this innocent looking young lady which is kind of creepy.

Creepy? Damn, that's bad :/

Your intentions were good. You just need to work on the final outcome. I think the B&W might be adding to the creepyness factor as well.

It looks like she's slid to the right and you're about to lose her off the edge.

Guys, I thought about it more than once. Even talked with my cat about it. I dismiss the "being creepy" part. Especially with her looking into camera.

I'm glad you have a smart cat to discuss these things with.
Personally I like this image, but would be tweaking the contrast.

I like it a lot, but I think it might look better if the left side of the binocular view was completely black, I find that cushion a bit distracting.

I don't think it's creepy but I think the look on her face says " I'm sure I am being watched but I can't see anybody " !

OhLook wrote in post #18388388
It looks like she's slid to the right and you're about to lose her off the edge.

Olafs is usually off the edge or very near it.

Ramon-uk wrote in post #18389127
I don't think it's creepy but I think the look on her face says " I'm sure I am being watched but I can't see anybody"

That's what I was seeing. It doesn't look bad on my computer but it looks creepier on my phone. If that makes any sense...

This is a crude representation of how I would have processed this. It's hard to make it look nice without the RAW file but I think you get where I am going with this.

You know what, ill give it a shot.

Qbx wrote in post #18389136
Olafs is usually off the edge or very near it.

Some of the people here don't seem to be familiar with Olafs work. I've come to the realization that one-half or one-third under exposure is part of his artistic vision and style.

I think that the exposure on her face appears somewhat abrupt in the sea of black. I think the brightness of her face is what makes this image "creepy". Olaf, if you either bring the rest of her up or scale back on the exposure on the face to balance with the rest of her body, I think it's a good image.

Also a bit abrupt is the transition from lit to dark. I'd like to see a more gradual transition.

Why the dead-space? Is this to be the background of an extra-wide monitor? If printed and framed, I'm just not sure what the dead space accomplishes. I'm not against negative space, but I'm not sure what the purpose is here.