Old But Gold

So I recently found some old photos that I had taken from the first time I used a make-shift studio (they're from back when I did A-Level in Photography). I remember being quite proud of how well the photos had come out considering I had never used a studio before (it's wasn't really much of a studio, just a tiny cramped room with a backdrop and 2 lights). But still, I was excited but new things and trying new techniques.
Here are some of the photos ...

 This was (and still is) one of my favourite photos that I took that day. I just love the composition, the catch light in the model's eyes and how focus the face is peering through the rip in the Japanese paper umbrella.

 This photo reminded me of the elegance of Japanese women. The model's rather pale face sticks out in comparison to the rest of the photo making her the complete and main focus.

 I had a fixed fascination on the umbrella and bird cage throughout this shoot, I was constantly trying to find a way to incorporate both in the photos.

 With the success of having the model peer through the umbrella I considered all angles to photograph.

 This photo didn't excite me as much as the first one, the umbrella slightly covered the eyes and didn't give as much of a mysterious look as the first photo. I felt as though the umbrella was too low, although on a positive note, the catch light in the eyes was brilliant.

 This was one of the experimental photos, I feel like the photo could have looked better if the umbrella was moved slightly more up so you could see the eyes through the rip staring at the bird cage.

This photo was another experiment with the levels, I wanted to get the umbrella, cage and fan in the photo but my model only has two hands.