Pray For Love (Ace)

The original looked too much like a snapshot. It was taken in my bathroom, and I used a single light over his head. I used a black cotton shirt in an attempt to cover the light and make the picture seem darker. For the first few minutes we were thinking about showing his muscular back and then I had him pressing against the walls on either side of him. While looking through the shots I saw this particular pose and thought it looked like he was praying. I had been listening to Justin Bieber’s “Pray” while working on the picture. I didn’t really focus on the editing and the ending result surprised me. I liked it so much I even made a video.

Pray (Justin Bieber); Photograph (Sidney Hoggard Photography)

It may look different in print than on the web, but I don't think there's enough detail showing that the bit of arm on the right is attached to anything. It's just kind of floating out there. Also the skin and hair is a little blown out. You may want to try bringing the mid tones and highlights down a bit and get some detail in them.

Ignoring the technical stuff I think it's a great idea and composition. I love the mood of it. It makes me think of some of Goya's paintings when he was older and went a bit insane. With a bit more detail and tonality this would be winner.

Keep doing these. Make small adjustments in the exposure and processing till you get more out of it without losing what you already have. Keep doing these. Don't bother with changing light systems, camera, or lenses yet until you master what you've got here. Keep doing these. Work the theme, find the boundaries of what works and doesn't. And if I didn't mention it already; keep doing these.