From the judge in me:
I see good in both pictures. the second one you posted tells more of a story.
* having you centered, puts you in the power position with your "minions" on each side. * Even though you are in the back the framing pulls the eye towards you because of the triangle shape (wide at bottom and everything positioned staggered till we see you in the center)
* There is also the symmetry thing you have going on and your soldiers dont pull focus off you..
these little things all are appealing to the eye and thus people are drawn to this picture more than the other. does that make sense?
From the model in me:
It's easy to get tunnel visioned with your own work. everything starts to not work and it's hard sometimes to put an objective eye on it. So then you second guess everything you do. but like i said both pictures were good. So dont beat yourself up. At least you now have some perspective and you know you have the shots you need in you <3
as for the mentor thing.. im still on the fence about it, but having a sounding board is definitely a plus.. dont be afraid to talk to the cycle 4 models no one will throw you under the bus and will help :)
