The Face of Cancer

Image Description

One of my dearest friends. Since November of last year, she’s been fighting Triple X breast cancer and just yesterday went though 15 hours of surgery for a double mastectomy and lymph node excising. In November of 2023 I am having a show chronicling her battle with this insidious disease.

Type of Critique Requested

  • Aesthetic: Feedback on the overall visual appeal of the image, including its color, lighting, cropping, and composition.

  • Conceptual: Feedback on the message and story conveyed by the image.

  • Emotional: Feedback on the emotional impact and artistic value of the image.

  • Technical: Feedback on the technical aspects of the image, such as exposure, color, focus and reproduction of colors and details, post-processing, and print quality.

Specific Feedback and Self-Critique

My friend, Leslie wanted me to tell her story, form start to wherever in ends up over the course of one year. She is so dear to me and while it is a labor of love, it is also a labor of fear as to the negative possibilities which lurk each step of her journey. In telling the story, she wanted it to be raw and fully natural.

Technical Details

In keeping with the natural aspect of her journey, I have used noting but natural light - this particular shot lit from a window scrimmed by the sheer curtains.

Nikon D850, 50mm 1.4, f/4.5, 1/160, ISO 250, -1.33 EV

ACR for basic tonal control. On1 Portrait only for the teeth and eyes. TK8 for some burning on her short as I didn’t want to lose the short completely so she became a face in a sea of black but also didn’t want the short to be too dark.

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Hi Chris. An excellent portrait in my minimal experience with portraits. I’m moving this to the Non-nature forum. Human and Fauna is designated for non-human animals either captive, tame, or in an obviously human setting. I hope the exhibition goes well. My wife has been through breast cancer twice, though she caught it very early both times.

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