A reply (sort of) to G's ICBM

Since I got a bit of a doing from G (JR also to some extent on EP) on my portrait PP style, I would like to share this one with you all for critique, please bear in mind I still haven't finished G's mushroom yet




DA50-200 @ 200mm f5.6 1/160 ISO100

The only thing I don't like is being able to see the softbox reflected in her eyes and say it is a softbox.

The kind of PP you do has its place and is what lots of people are looking for.

I don't like the pose at all, made me think she had a beard.

It is not obvious enough that this is her hand. i'd suggest either not using the hand at all (my preference) or having the hand 'flat' horizontally.

I don't seem to have been sent my code book yet. What is 'a bit of a doing'? Who (or what) is 'G', 'JR', 'EP' and 'PP'?

G = George
JR = John Riley
EP - ePhotozine
PP = Post Processing

It's ICBM that's got me stumped, unless George has access to some seriously wicked weaponry. I always that it meant Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile.

G See below.
JR John Riley
EP E-Photozine (I think)
PP is post-processing (in other words, mucking about with the image in PS (that's Photoshop) or some other similar IESW (image-editing software).

TTFN

G

Ah. Thank you.

So was it post-processing that made the poor girl's skin look like plastic or should we blame Max Factor for that?

Also, I agree with justgetoutandride; the pose isn't flattering.

Your guess, I am sure, is correct. Brian is referring to my mild reproof for excessive PP-ing.

Technically, I think this is a far more restrained and (to me) acceptable piece of work than the earlier efforts.

Very good lighting, perfect exposure, delicate PP work. Very good.

G

I'm inclined to agree with JGOAR that the hand looks unnatural.

I'm also wondering about the eyes. The whites look to have been whitened a bit, which is fair enough, but is it possible that in selecting the area for attention you've damaged the circular part at the bottom? Especially the one on the left as we look at it, they don't look quite the right shape to me.

Otherwise I can see why George approves.

See what you mean about the eyes... I could still see the blood vessels and thought you were wrong but there is definitely something with the left eye..

For the hand, it does look as though the chin on resting on her fist, not very elegant... not much you can do it on the PC, if you rotate the wrist by 90 degrees when photographing the model so that you are looking at the arm side on then it's much better...

Something tells me that justgetoutandride have VERY hairy hands

Again many thanks for taking the time to look a post very constructive replies.

I agree that the pose is not that great, the excercise with this one was only to gauge the post processing compaired to the effort in the original post last week, it is the only other suitable image I have of the same model to do a comparrison unless I have another go at the original which I'm loathe to do as the model is very happy with it.

I see the mistake I've made in the RIGHT eye (note to self: more self criticism required), catchlights are very difficult to omit in studio shots, either have them or ruin the lighting for the rest of the image, I quite like them anway.

For reference to ICBM, you have to refer back to last weeks post...https://www.pentaxuser.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5091



P.S. the decoding is correct, sorry for being lazy, won't happen again

What I'm seeing in her right eye is a distinct angle in what should be circular, at the lower left quadrant.

It's much worse than her left eye, but there's something not quite right about that too. It's more a flattened circle than an actual angle, but to me it still looks funny - and since I look at the eyes in much more detail than the fist, it spoils the overall effect much more.

I'm none the wiser.

Scratches head and begins to question life, the universe, and everything.

ICBM stood for Inter Continental Ballistic Missile, and was a metaphor for George's inimitable style. It was a poor one, though, since an ICBM can only destroy a whole city.

"A bit of a doing", is what Brian got. As in "doing over", "getting duffed up", or otherwise suffering a degree of internet GBH.

Personally, I'm all for straight talk when it comes to photo critique. I'll learn a lot more if I get it straight.

Not particularly, my cycling gloves rub the hair off, it's my armpits that are hairy.