Black and White (Page 2): You COULD crop it that way and have a "traditional" portrait, one which would be readily forgotten and discarded. As you have it now, it has context and...

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

1stJedi wrote:

Taking off perhaps as much as third of the left side of the photo vertically. This would dampen all that while on the left side of the shot and cause it to become balanced and in my opinion,a more traditional portrait photo. Then if you wanted to you could use standard ratios for the size of the photo you would like to print.

You COULD crop it that way and have a "traditional" portrait, one which would be readily forgotten and discarded.

As you have it now, it has context and motion. It tells a story about a little girl who, maybe, is sneaking back into a room after being a little naughty. Or just a little girl being shy.

By the way, as it is now, it uses the rule of thirds rather nicely.

toptrainer Loc: Wellington

I thought the same thing, that is why I didn't crop. Thank you.

dsmeltz wrote:

You COULD crop it that way and have a "traditional" portrait, one which would be readily forgotten and discarded.

As you have it now, it has context and motion. It tells a story about a little girl who, maybe, is sneaking back into a room after being a little naughty. Or just a little girl being shy.

By the way, as it is now, it uses the rule of thirds rather nicely.

DickC Loc: NE Washington state

Good shot!! :thumbup: :thumbup:

dundeelad Loc: Originally UK. Current West Dundee, Illinois

toptrainer wrote:

I want to get into black and white photography, I know it is a big subject. I am putting this picture up to see what you all think.

Hi toptrainer, welcome to the Hog.

You might like to check out fellow UHH member Ian Barber, who is our "Zen Master" on B/W photography.
Check out his site at www.ianbarberphotography.co.uk
which is full of good tutorial advice on the art of B/W photography. Good luck.

jackm1943 Loc: Omaha, Nebraska

toptrainer wrote:

I want to get into black and white photography, I know it is a big subject. I am putting this picture up to see what you all think.

Beautiful little girl. One rule of thumb for portrait photography is to place the dominant eye (her right eye in this case) on a middle line that bisects the image. This could be done by cropping the left side, which adds nothing to the image, until the girl's right eye is on a center line. It would probably require a square format. There will be enough of the subject on the right side to satisfy your rule of thirds.