Full-length portraiture

I got a lovely feeling when I saw this shot of a man with his store of everything behind him. Simple is always the best approach, taking just seconds, this shot has captured a moment, and sums up a salesman with his trade perfectly. Taken with a pocket sized camera too.

I think this is a strong portrait, taken underwater. The model wears a yellow dress helping the cloth stand out in the dark blue water. Faint streak of light beams from the top corner helps electrify the scene. A laying down position is interesting.

This image made me stop and contemplate a little. I love the Derbyshire countryside and the outcrop of strange shaped rocks it has, can sometimes look like they are from a different planet. The photographer here has utilised a rock as a platform for his model. Her scarf blowing into the wind. Works well.

You can't beat a decent black and white portrait, and when the model wears angel wings against a dark backdrop, it looks great. I think the height of the model works well as if she is a statue on a plinth. A bit of fill in light makes the costume come alive.

This image almost made it into the top 10 for me, as the documentary and black and white style always appeals to me. The sitting room almost looks too grande to have a TV switched on in the corner showing a sporting event. I liked the casual nature of the shot as the subject was clearly comfortable having this image taken.

Another image without any information unfortunately, but a beautiful shot. The subject strikes a pose with the clothing caught perfectly in balance both sides of the model's body. I like the pink skirt colour against the red floor and background. Lovely soft side lighting, and as the skirt looks like it could be made of silk, if you squint your eyes you could think you were looking at a close up of a flower.

Lovely captured moment showing a surfer at a critical moment in turning on a wave. The photographer was able to capture a sharp image using the 1/1000th of a sec shutter speed and F/9. Some nice soft side lighting from the sun too which helps.

I liked this portrait, as it encapsulates the brief - full length! This guy is tall as the photographer says, yet he is nicely positioned amongst his cattle, their horns making him look less tall in some ways. I like the intensity of the man's stare, which reflects the cow's stares. Nice shallow depth of field at f2.8, allowing to shoot with low light be retain a low ISO.

This was a strong contender for a top 10 spot as it shows how the everyday things in our lives can be the most interesting. The picture on the wall is my favourite element to this one and I loved the juxtaposition of everything around the subject.

Another lovely underwater image this time showing the subject floating almost like an insect with limbs pointing mostly upwards. Works really nicely using a 50mm fixed lens and perfectly detailed everywhere which is what you need for this type of image.

This image looks like it belongs in the victorian era, which is why it works to well of the subject matter. A blacksmith who has stopped his forging for a second. I love the grittiness to the image, and the blue hue. I also like how he has a blank look, almost sceptical. The only critical thing I would say is the nearness of the top of his head to the top of the frame is a little tight for me.

Wow, a sea of poppies and a little girl dead centre of frame. The fact that the field of flowers looks as though it is holding the girl in it's arms, almost protecting her, makes for a great shot. Using a fab F/1.2 85mm lens is the perfect portrait lens and this image is a great example to show why.

I think this image was one of my favourite images from the competition. The richness of the colours, the subtle and soft light brings out all of the subject's folds in his clothing, and a powerful and confident look into the lens. A nice tight crop too makes you feel close to the Chief. Finally, taken just a couple of weeks ago. Perfect.

Quite a spooky, but intriguing image. A portrait of a person in a raven costume, taken by a ruined stone wall. I thought that the composition was great, and lighting was great too. High quality, shooting at ISO 100, and f/16.

Quite a striking shot of an older man in India, sat on some steps and holding his hair like it was his reins, and he's looking up to be praised in some way. It works really well as he is sat in the middle of the image, cross-legged, but with his head tilted to one side. Nice settings of F/2, ISO 400, and with a 85mm lens. I also like the photographer positioning themselves just below the head height of the man.