New Shooter, C&C?

Greetings, folks!

I'm new to photography -- started this past November or so, and I have no background in art or shooting. I do, however, have an insane amount of time to read and learn, so I'm hoping these shots are, for the most part, decent and I can get some insightful critique. I'm definitely looking for advice on lighting and composition...

All of these images have had some work done and some are more heavily processed.

#1 - The blown highlights on the hair are really distracting for me.

#2 and #4 are very well lit and processed. I might have moved the faces down a bit in the crop though, favoring some extra head room and less body in the frame.

#3 - Could probably benefit from a lighting setup similar to what you used on #2 and #4 - the shadows give it a very different feel from the other two.

#5 - The blown highlights on the hair make this picture. I love it. The pose, the underexposure of her face, and the background all work very well together.

Thanks, Brian!

I really appreciate the critique -- if you could help me understand a bit better why the blown light in #1 is distracting and in #5 it makes the picture. Is it the mood, for instance, or something else? I'd really love to understand these nuances.

In #1, it doesn't really add anything to the photo for me.

In #5, it's definitely mood. It's telling part of the story. It gives her an aura that goes with the celestial/magical feel of the shot. I think it'd be even better if you could bring back the hair color in the triangle between her hand, cheek, and hair, keeping the blown-out bits around the edges, but that's just a nit.

alduin wrote in post #7469112
In #1, it doesn't really add anything to the photo for me.

In #5, it's definitely mood. It's telling part of the story.

Gotcha.

Thanks again for the extended thoughts... greatly appreciated.