I thought you did intend to be in the reflection because of your comment in the other gallery about how hard it was to balance the reflection. This was my 4th favorite picture in the eligible gallery. It would have been higher, but the bright background on the left side does bug me. Overall it's wonderful though. I'd be really happy with it if I were the subject which is always a good thing for a portrait.
Guest
12-Apr-2002 10:20
I really like this image, I like the composition and also the warm
tones. I agree too with above the shot is a picture in itself nothing
more need, love the goggles could be an ad shot for nike!
keep on shootin
nessa
Guest
11-Apr-2002 17:42
yeah, I have to admit it was a mistake that I'm in the shot, rather than something intentional. As it isn't exactly 'posed' I didn't have a lot of opportunity to go back and correct it.
But it is more of an 'environmental' portrait, and the focus is a bit off.
cgesteland
11-Apr-2002 16:10
I agree with most of the above comments. To make this an effective double portrait, you should step closer and let the goggles take up more of the frame. I can see on this shot that there are quite a few details to explore, like the partial view of her eye through the goggles, the water droplets, her quirky smile. Stepping closer would only create more details to entertain the eye.
As it is, this shot is a great portrait of her. But I have to agree that the teeny reflection of you disrupts the intimacy of the photo, kind of the way a reflection or shadow of a camera would in a movie.
I like this photo a lot. I like the warm tones and the way you can see the water droplets on her face and on her hands. I don't mind the dichotomy between the intensely white left and the darker right background...it gives an idea of where the light is coming from that highlights the left of her face. I don't mind the asymmetry either, as it gives the impression that she's moving (walking) towards the camera.
I'm not convinced that the "double portrait" feature works that well, though. It's a creative idea, but it just seems like this photo is so much about the girl coming out of the pool towards the viewer, that to have the photographer in the picture takes away from the sense of "intimacy" - it puts distance between the viewer and the subject by reminding the viewer that there was a photographer at all :-)
