What a lovely child. Those eyelashes look long and to die for! First, I like the turned head, it gives me a feeling that I'm catching the boy unawares and in a moment of simple inner reflection. In some instances the cut off elbow would be a bit of a distraction but I think with the compostion you have it works. My attention (for the most part) stays riveted to the boy's face and his calm.
That said, the lighting here has its pros and cons. There's some bluish tones to it which cool the image down, this helps promote that calm feeling, it also compliments the cooler colors of the green shirt and the speckled background. I think either the intensity of the light or the direction its coming in from is what's causing me to find some cons to it though. The main one being the way it lights up his arm. Since his skin is a little pale there, it is reflecting the light back and that makes that portion of his arm stand out - to the point that its drawing my gaze away from his face which I think isn't what you'd intended. The light also is making the spotted background more noticeable than it should be (IMO) and that is also vying for my attention.
I do however LIKE the background. The little fuzzed out flower dots are nice, but I'm thinking it might be a bit too busy for this setup. If they were more blurry - possibly to the point it looked similar to one of those abstract watercolor paintings, just a swirl of blue and green, then it wouldn't register quite as much but would still provide the color interest.
You've got some nice catchlights in his eyes from what I can tell and his position/posture feels relaxed and normal which I think adds authenticity to the moment. The light hitting his face, particularly just under the eyes seems a smidge too bright. Nothing earthshattering mind you, just a bit brighter than I'd expect. I'm not sure if a similar lighting issues would be better were he looking face on to the camera (it might highlight his eyes more?) but here its playing out more as additonal light reflection for me.
I think the composition is wonderful and you've got some great clarity and focus. If I were to suggest changing anything in his pose it'd be to have him swivel his head just a little bit more towards the camera, just enough to see more of his other eye and perhaps a bit of the cheekbone. It'd offer the same distant, pondering feeling but also give more of his face to see. Might be worth a shot to try - its entirely possible that the balance would be worse than this particular pose but you never know! |
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