Rebecca says

“I am a 19-year-old student studying Landscape Architecture in Dublin, but my passion has always been photography. I’m self-taught, having picked up my first camera when I was about 15. I know I still have a lot to learn, but I love what I do, and would like to take it further someday. This picture is titled ‘I Am’, and was taken using natural light.”

Martin’s Verdict

There is not much I can pick fault with in this photograph. The model looks good and I love the eyelashes – they really stand out well! This is what I would regard as a classic, naturally lit beauty shot. Some people might be tempted to airbrush the face, but I don’t think it is appropriate to apply this kind of retouching, especially when the subject has such good skin.

However, my attention was drawn to some of the stray hairs. So what I did here was to add a new empty layer and work with the clone stamp tool to carefully retouch these hairs out. It is a fiddly job and takes practice to get right, but I reckon it was worth the effort. Check out the close-ups (below) in which I show a before and after view.