[Doc]

Justin, everytime you post new pics, I feel like I would do you a disservice if I critiqued you in the same way, because you've been improving so drastically in these past 6 months.

So everytime you post new pics, I try to avoid the things that you've been critiqued on in the past, because I know you incorporate all critiques that you receive within your growth, and if there is an imperfection that I notice, I know you've already considered it, and perhaps there is a reason that you've ignored it.

With your most recent images you've displayed that you are fully cognizant of the technical, and compositional aspects of photography. Everything is done strategically, and everything is done well (i.e. lighting is ideal, DOF is perfect, colors and contrast are spot on...etc). So having said that, I think you are now at a level that you can be critiqued purely on a conceptual level. So from now on, everything I say will be purely subjective, and you'll have to take it with a grain of salt, as it's not definitive in any way....merely a different perspective.

Your two recent images work because you have a hot fucking model posing with a gun. That's a #1 seller right there. In addition, her outfit is well thought out, and fits the overall concept of mimicking GI Jane. Finally, you've done a great job in contrasting her background in such a way that the two background colors provide an ideal reference point to her character. The green and the orange, particularly in the second image, provide a very appealing gradation of colors that make the overall composition quite seductive. However, the images have a few deficits.
The concept ultimately fails because you did not give enough thought to the background, as you did to the foreground. Although color-wise, the two fit, conceptually, the foreground and the background do not complement one-another. As it stands, it's just a well crafted snap-shot in a park. For the images to truly exemplify the look you were going for, you would have to recreate, or at least, re-situate her in an environment that complements her physical expressions and literal intentions. What I mean is, when you know of the genre of photography you will be conducting, don't sell yourself short by just randomly picking an environment that generally fits the idea you're composing. Instead, really get out there and scout for a location that would--on it's own--sell the image even without the model! Ultimately what you want is a frame that has multiple complementing elements in the foreground and background that EACH equally represent the idea you are selling.

Just to give you an example, when Dennis and I were shooting Nikki Gertsch early this year, we each scouted for weeks for an ideal location. I confess Dennis did a better job than I did, because he went a step further and found the location BEFORE finding all the right outfits for Nikki. Ultimately, his images worked, because he worked BACKWARDS in composing his shots (i.e. he chose the location, then the girl, then the outfits, then the jewlery, then the MUA, etc etc...).

So yes, your images are great, and your growth tremendous; but as a next step in your development, you should start paying attention to the environments that you are creating, and present concepts, instead of pictures.


Cheers,
~S