Just thought I would share an image of one of my brides from last year. Hope you like it!

Steph

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What do you like about it...? Steph

I think it's really cute! I love images when the subject is looking down and smiling. It shows so much emotion.

I actually like a lot about it. I like that she is way down in the corner. I like the uncluttered background. And I like her expression.I take it that you don't like it Mildred? Or do you like it and you just wondered what I liked?

Jamie...Thank you for commenting. I liked her expression too. This is one of those shots that happened just how I saw it the millisecond before I took it. I love it when that happens!

Steph

Looks like it was shot as a cover for a book. Lots of room for the book title at the top.

I like the emotion, I like the shot. But I wouldn't crop it like that.

How would you crop it? Do you not like the space a the top of the image? Just curious.

Thanks for the comments!
Steph

Steph, I do like the image. But I think that it draws to much attention to the veil and the tiara. The framing doesn't bother me at all. But I think this shot could have been better if this was shot wide open at 1.8 or lower and focused on her smile or eyelashes. This would have made the veil and tiara more out of focus. I know you said you didnt have time to really react, but I think a little lower angle would have helped you as well. However if you shot horizontally you could have stayed higher and shot down on her more and cropped out the veil and tiara all together. I hope this helps you. I actually posted this very same shot on my new BLOG. It is photograph #6 and #7 in the slideshow. They are the same just one is Black and White. I actually took my shoes off and jumped on the bed. LOL. Again I hope this assists you.

The action of the image draws the eye right out of image. My eye goes into the image from the upper left, pops down to the bottom cause of all the negative space, and then falls out the bottom of the image.

This is something I learned both in art class and in page design (journalism) class. Give the eye a path to follow. Make it a comfortable path.

If I had shot the image, it probably would have been a horizontal, with the bride off center to the left, so the viewers eyes could come in and comfortably find the subject, and then be led off to the next graphical element in the next image.

your image isn't wrong, but it does need to be used in context. If it were used on a collage style page layout, it would need to be used where you wanted to quickly draw the viewer's eyes to the next image.

Also, think of Action/Reaction. This image show's REaction. But all the null space that the viewer's eye encounters first doesn't set the stage for that idea. You have no idea what she's reacting to, but you do have a sense of emptiness due to the null space at the top.

In Western culture, we are taught to read Left to Right, from the top down. So, a western viewer (as oposed to Eastern or Asian) will (most often) begin looking at an image from the upper left.

Where does your eye start in the image, and where does it end up exiting due to the Motion/Action/body language in an image is very important in it's composition.

Hope this helps. I'm not knocking it. Just trying to explain how I reacted as a viewer, and where those ideas come from.