Hi ONEEYE
Thanks for the sharing!
I think you make some absolutely valid points about the need to align the purpose of the image (portrait) with the execution of the shot.
I think I pigeon-holed myself a little too quick by saying portraits when I should have described my vision for the shot. It was to portray a slightly dark and somewhat moody scene of a girl contemplating. Just like I had mentioned, the inclusion of the other elements in the scene was intentional. Based on this description, as a viewer, how successful do you suppose I was in achieving that?
Ok so you are trying to create a scene or story. It's still about the girl right? One thing you should know is how the eye sees. It will automatically see the brightest part of a picture first.So in this case the lampshade at the upper right corner is distracting.Ideally the girl should be the brightest relative to the surrounding.Either you reduce the light on the red curtains or use the light of the lampshade or simulate it.
Oh, and to address the parts about shoot straight on and having flat images, that's the reason I depend quite heavily on lighting. To create shadows for depth. Does it work?
Now I have to warn you that you are shooting models so straight on is not a problem because they are
small/thin but what if it's like the malay couple earlier in the series.A straight on shot would make her look broader/fat and no woman likes that. Thats' where shadows come to play to reduce/hide the apparent size or thickness. Cheers! Yes shadows for depth/3D is great.