Asking for comments/critiques of these 2 portrait shots

This is my good friend's daughter, who graciously agree to let me get in some much needed practice. Shot these in a local park's gazebo. Thoughts on improving them? Shot with D2X/28-70/SB800 in iTTL-BL.

 

Thanks Frank,

I think I'm having issues with the outboard focus reticles on my D2X, since all the images I took in portrait mode used the outer reticle and are showing softness from either back or front focusing. Also, I probably forgot to do a final sharpening on this one after pretty severely downsizing it for web. Print looks great. It was actually one of the few shots I did in landscape mode, most likely using the center reticle.

 

Flat it is,

but flat she sure isn't! :wink: I think using the Sb800 in iTTL-BL made it the main source of light, and being onboard the cam, albiet above it with an RRS PP rig, makes for flat lighting. Too bad she doesn't know a thing about posing for the cam, and I'm pretty inexperienced too. We did work off a posing contact sheet I printed up as guidlines for her poses, but she's a beauty pageant queen, not a photography model. And fwiw, Chris, I've known this girl since she was 2, but that doesn't make blind to her beauty. :shock: She is definitely well built! :lol: She's on the diving team in college.

 

Thanks Dan,

I see what you mean about the up the nose angle, and you're right about that dress creeping up too far in that 2nd shot. It's a bit too revealing, isn't it? I'd better go back and see if there's another similar shot we could use.

 

Thanks Gordon,

Ya, that view is a bit too much, isn't it? I do have just one other shot similar to this one I'll see if I can make work. It's doesn't have quite this "vista".

 

Ya, Yves, but I can't afford you! ;c)

Thanks for stopping by my friend. With any luck at all, we may do another series over the weekend.[/b]