Matty doing "James Dean"

FlyNavy

bfjr

cool lighting / treatment on this one.

IMHO think it might of been if cooler if subject was wearing a
solid white or black shirt

FlyNavy

Thanks for the tip.
John

bendruckerphoto

Several things here.

1: The subject is too underexposed. A low key subject should maybe be a half a stop or even a stop underexposed. This is too much.
2: You need a separation light. Notice how his face and shirt fade into black? A little rim light will pop your subject off the background, which is especially important with a very dark background.
3: The subject is a little too far into the center of the frame. If he was a little further right the image would have more impact.
4: Vertical lines on a shirt are usually fine. They draw the eye up to the face. Horizontal lines should be avoided. They make the subject look heavier and distract from their face.
5. You need to either have your shadows be deliberate or fill them. His right eye is totally dark, but it looks like that was a mistake. Either have half the face in shadow or have detail.

FlyNavy

Thanks Ben, I was not going for the "Olin Mills" look and purposely turned my other 2 lights off.

senorjax

FlyNavy wrote:

Thanks Ben, I was not going for the "Olin Mills" look and purposely turned my other 2 lights off.

I think it's obvious that you weren't because he's not wearing a sweater vest.