Pretty sure the word you were looking for was cornrows, and those are not cornrows, they are dreadlocks. Dreads on white people gross me right the hell out, so I'm afraid the image is ruined for me. Otherwise I think it was well executed on your part, but I wish we could see her eyes.
-Jack
An "accurate" reproduction of a scene and a good photograph are often two different things.
Long black cornrolls? That got me. Didn't have any idea what you were talking about. Now I know what dreadlocks are, don't like them. Just looks to me like really dirty hair.
Quite a few comments on the subject in the photograph, and not much about the photograph itself. Well, the photograph is kick-ass. Way to go Mike. I love. Crushing the blacks works well here and in the other work you have put on 500px. The purists will say they don't like the tilt in your shots. I don't think this photograph works without the tilt. Tilt itself isn't bad, it is that just so many people do it badly that it becomes like fingernails on chalkboard.
I can't say much about the technicals because they are irrelevant in a photograph such as this. I can only speak to expression - which could be stronger. If your going to sell sexiness - you need to get closer and cut the chest or the waist with the horizon (or difference in background contrast). DAH is a master at this. Look at his contact sheets which can be found here (content warning, small bit of nudity):
Notice carefully what he is doing in the contact sheets. Squarely putting the torso right in the different contrast zones or right smack in the golden spiral. This is so perfectly obvious that any photographer will see that DAH isn't doing this by accident. He is looking for it.
Please feel free to post any reworks you do of my images. Crop, skew, munge, edit, share. Website | Galleries | Utah PJs
How close to get is probably a matter of personal opinion. I would have tried to get about here, but each person is going to have their own limits:
The merging of contrasts of horizon and head are what is holding this one back. I made this very-high contrast version to illustrate the point. Shifting the blue line to either green line would have been alternate places to put the figure. It would have lead to the major contrast components not being mixed together - which is really important with the high contrast work you've got going on.
Of course, I am just one voice. There are probably many ways to think about this.
Please feel free to post any reworks you do of my images. Crop, skew, munge, edit, share. Website | Galleries | Utah PJs
Comments
An "accurate" reproduction of a scene and a good photograph are often two different things.
I can't say much about the technicals because they are irrelevant in a photograph such as this. I can only speak to expression - which could be stronger. If your going to sell sexiness - you need to get closer and cut the chest or the waist with the horizon (or difference in background contrast). DAH is a master at this. Look at his contact sheets which can be found here (content warning, small bit of nudity):
http://www.magnumphotos.com/C.aspx?VP3=SearchResult&ALID=2K7O3RKCM8DS
Notice carefully what he is doing in the contact sheets. Squarely putting the torso right in the different contrast zones or right smack in the golden spiral. This is so perfectly obvious that any photographer will see that DAH isn't doing this by accident. He is looking for it.
Website | Galleries | Utah PJs
Cheers,
Mike V
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Street-Documentary-Photography/594662923907477
http://500px.com/mikevandecarr
untitled (1 of 1) (533x800).jpg
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Street-Documentary-Photography/594662923907477
http://500px.com/mikevandecarr
The merging of contrasts of horizon and head are what is holding this one back. I made this very-high contrast version to illustrate the point. Shifting the blue line to either green line would have been alternate places to put the figure. It would have lead to the major contrast components not being mixed together - which is really important with the high contrast work you've got going on.
Of course, I am just one voice. There are probably many ways to think about this.
Website | Galleries | Utah PJs
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Street-Documentary-Photography/594662923907477
http://500px.com/mikevandecarr
14-24 24-70 70-200mm (vr2)
85 and 50 1.4
45 PC and sb910 x2
http://www.danielkimphotography.com