In my opinion, I think the square crop works rather nicely, even considering the tightness at the top. Squeezing the model in like that gives a certain tension to the image, I think. It does move emphasis away from her resting her chin on her knee, as *JJohnsonPhotog said in a previous critique, but maybe simply resting is a bit too relaxed for what the photographer was trying to portray. Having her only slightly off center would be the likely choice for most other images, but I think the large amount of empty space to the left is actually an aspect of the picture that contributes to the theme, similarly to the tightness of the crop vertically.
Very well composed and excelent exposure, so technically it is good. Now, you probably would have been better off with a different crop, more of a standard ratio rather than square. Square format is one of the most difficult to compose and it shows here, look at the top. The crop is way too close to her head, making her look like she's trying to fit in the frame rather rest her chin on her knee. If you were to have it cropped as, say, 11x14 with her slightly off center, it would give room for her head inside the frame and create a focus on her emotions in a empty room.
Personally speaking, I think you should try b&w film with a bigger camera, like an SLR. With one of those you could control the depth-of-field much more, as well as your crop. This is just my opinion, but I haven't found digital to be, in any way, a substitute for b&w films.
Personally speaking, I think you should try b&w film with a bigger camera, like an SLR. With one of those you could control the depth-of-field much more, as well as your crop. This is just my opinion, but I haven't found digital to be, in any way, a substitute for b&w films.
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