Is it okay to shoot a portrait shooting up?

Of course you can, as your rather good portrait proves. It's just not the kind of angle that we usually see people from; helps to make them look more dominant/strong.

I don't care for your crop though. Her feet add nothing and I'd crop that somewhere just above the end of her right trouser leg. And chop off a bit of the sky on the right as well :)
 
Ah, rules... :-)
As a rule of thumb making a portrait photograph from below the subject is not regarded as a good thing. But, as so often in photography, it depends on the circumstances.
With a different subject (think jawline/chin, no hat etc.) it might not have been advisable, but in this case I think it works very well. I like your photo very much, and feel that your choice of angle works well with your wife's pose.
Do you like it? Does your wife like it? I certainly do. :-)
 
Good - I'm glad you both like it because it's a fine photo. :-)
Looking at the photo here I'm not personally bothered by the framing/crop. If I were to print it I'd definitely try different crops, however (I always do), and it's quite possible that I'd crop as HoppyUK suggested above. It's always worthwhile to try different crops.
 
Home printing of photos is very cool - though it can be rather expensive.
There's something wonderful about seeing your photos roll off your printer. I've never really figured why, but seeing your photos printed (as long as they're nicely colour-managed and on good paper) is a much better experience than seeing them on a computer monitor.
I think you're going to like it. :-)
 
We use the angle plenty, but you have to be aware that 'looking up the nose' is rarely attractive, so we have to look out for that.

Should you have another try and you want the full length look, the trick is to bend the legs back to nearer a kneel, it stops the feet dominating the image and brings them back closer to the plane of focus.
 
The fewer chins the model has, the better a low angle works!
 
You say you used flash, and I don't doubt it, but the effect is very subtle - none of the usual give-aways if you know where to look. I'm wondering if you're actually getting more effect from the white front of the octobox, acting as a reflector, than the flash itself? A reflector would probably be my choice for that shot, if you don't need the extra power. Do you have something like a Lastolite Trigrip? Much easier than messing about with flash if you don't need it and you can hold a Trigrip in your left hand http://www.lastolite.com/tri-grip-silver-white-lllr3631

I prefer the tighter crop, but now it's making me wonder what she's looking at?! Then I'm thinking how different the shot would be if she simply turned her eyes down, or maybe to camera? This is where the art of portraiture gets interesting for me, those tiny subtle movements that can completely change the image. It's one of the reason why, when the pose looks good as it obviously does there, I shoot lots of frames, pretty much as fast as the kit will allow. And they're all different. The technical stuff is secondary, and should be taken as read anyway.

Nice work :)
 
Richard
I had the flash set at a very low output 3.8 if I remember rightly on the B1 head as I just wanted to use it as a fill light. Today I am going to a beach location about 300 clicks from KL where I am going to try my hand at shooting my wife wearing a white dress on the beach in bright sunlight.....glutton for punishment :)
the last time we went to this location I got it all completely wrong and she my wife looked like she had been photoshopped into the picture anyways hopefully I will get it right today...just wish my CS lenses had arrived in time which would have helped enormously
Your 100% right about the pose.......my wife keeps reminding me that she is not a model and that Its my fought if I don't direct her into a particular pose etc etc..................so its quite a touchy feeling thing or I will just end up with a bunch of pictures of a pretty girl who is obviously p***ed off :) :)
Mate I have already got the reflectors the same as what is in your link but I have never had them out of there case...........I will give them a go today!!!
 
I think its a lovely photo and great pose - she looks graceful and strong.
I get tired of the cliché of female models photographed from a higher angle, with chins tucked in and eyes rolled up - a boringly submissive pose and so many male photographers seem to think its an idea original to them. Puzzling :-) Well done for doing something elegant and different.
 
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