Ger, great job cropping to focus in on this interesting woman in order to create a compelling portrait. The original is lovely - vibrant colours and intriguing interactions amongst the subjects but there is a lot going on. The BW conversion is well toned with beautiful light on her face and right shoulder (I think you did a great job "managing the highlights", as you put it). You also did a good job removing the head and the cabinet(?) behind her, but the remaining "shadows" are a bit of a distraction. Perhaps going over this area again would clean it up? I find the clone tool in PS works well to remove these kinds of artifacts - just gave it a shot...   Posted: 01/14/2025 03:47:15

A lovely portrait of a beautiful girl doing what everyone does now - selfies. You have nice skin tones on the face but the arm looks unnatural. Is there a reason you removed the sleeve? You did a nice job in your composition of isolating her, however, I agree with Lorna that some cleanup of the background is needed, especially around the hand and phone.   Posted: 01/17/2025 02:12:34

I agree with what has been said. I might try remove background and see what it left. There are also bright spots on the lower right that could be toned down. I tried. It might be too much but an idea.   Posted: 01/25/2025 22:36:32

Great job in isolating the more photogenic of the four. Great crop; I struggle dealing with busy backgrounds like this one, good job bring out your subject.   Posted: 01/26/2025 23:43:42