(thank you, Tom, for your words.) actually mine
A nude with an obscured face. Not totally obscured, but not so's you can see into it and determine anything about the person. Terribly even light and soft focus really removes the dimension from the body. Presumably that's what the photographer wanted. But I remain interested in the person, not the body.
ironically, part of the interpretation is mentioned therein. could not soft focus, washed out features, and a look away? say something about a person?
To me it says more about the photographer than the model. This is clearly a studio posed shot, so there's an assumption that the AD or photographer was setting it up for whatever effect they wanted or to say what they wished. The model was just going along with instructions.
In my opinion, and clinical opinion, it is how a person behaves
rather than his/her eyes that give insight to the soul. Body language comes
to mind. If i failed to convey a mood of veiled, silent obscurity, then i have
indeed failed in the image, but it was clearly stated these were noticed.
Bringing the model into synchrony with the artist's concept would be my desire here. Perhaps introducing a focal point for the model would make that happen, something like a knee, or object in the other hand, or knife/gun, or journal. Then the eyes become inferred, and their focus on a softly out-of-focus object reinforces their disassociation from the present.
Alternatively having the model "look away" rather than down might do the trick.
-- Emily L. Ferguson elf@cape.com 508-563-6822 New England landscapes, wooden boats and races, press photography Beetle cats on the web at: http://www.vsu.cape.com/~elf http://www.beetlecat.org/store.html#yrbook
