Paige2 cc

[smoke665]

The biggest problem I have with my wireless mouse is the slight lag time on movement. I'm assuming you don't have that with a pen and tablet, plus the pressure sensitive option, has really made me think about a tablet.

Cost wise it looks like the XP is in line with Wacom, maybe even a little less. How do the features compare?

 

[Derrel]

I could not stand the time lag with a wireless mouse, and after about five months with wireless mice, decided to go back to a hardwired mouse.

 

[smoke665]

@Evertking how about sharing some details on the XP. Size?? Speed?? Likes? Dislikes?

 

[tirediron]

Hey Derrel - what year is it? I can't find my calendar!

With apologies to the OP for the derailment... Derrel, I understand the point you are making. I am also aware that it's 2019, and that visible bra-straps are perfectly acceptable. My point is that I feel it looks messy and (whether it is or not, whether you agree or not), in my opinion, is in the same category as an upside ring. Had the model adjusted things such that the bra straps were laying flat and the tank-top straps laying centered on them, it might have been fine.

Just because something is commonly done doesn't mean it's suitable for portraiture. Have you never clipped a garment behind a model because it didn't fit perfectly? Suggested that a young man remove his baseball cap or sunglasses? To me, this is the same. It's a minor detail, but, as I hope you would agree, the treatment of minor details is what separates good work from the average.

The OP has produced some absolutely excellent work; without a doubt some of the better portraiture that we see currently on TPF. He asked for C&C, I responded with the C&C as I saw it. If we disagree, that's fine. The OP can consider both of our inputs and take some, any, or none as he sees fit. I don't believe however, that telling my opinion is wrong is fair.

 

[Derrel]

it is not a minor detail. It is a major point of style, and I think it is insulting to impose your sense of what is appropriate as far attire goes This is not about a shirt that doesn't fit, this is about imposing your will upon your subject, your ideas of how to dress,on your subject. you wrote that it is "not appropriate". are you her father? Are you her boyfriend or husband? It is about as insulting as telling a man that he should add a necktie. your opinion is about asoutdated as The mandatory wearing of an undershirt with a button front shirt… Wearing of undershirts for men went out 30 years ago roughly, but old folks still referred to it as nasty for years. Just as my father called the Beatles those long-haired hippie dudes. Times change, but apparently some people don't… Seriously though, your point of view is old-fashioned and outdated and imposes a moral code upon women. imagine if she had gone braless ;Would it be your job as a photographer to tell her to put on a bra? Seriously though it's her bra. apparently you think it's her duty to conform to your 1960s birth ideas?

 

[tirediron]

I meant, "Not appropriate from a portraiture sense" NOT from a moral sense.

 

[crf8]

I hated my wireless mouse and keyboard
Didn’t even mention “straps”.

FB.me/CRFinTN Facebook
www.flickr.com/crf8/

 

[Derrel]

not appropriate? that is a moral judgment, No matter how you try to couch it. Seriously you may look at this as some little tiny thing, but I look at it as a really big deal, and that is why I have devoted so much attention to this. I think you're being a ______ .(there's no way to put it politely. You can fill in the blank with whatever two word pejorative that suits your fancy…)

in your first post you wrote, "there's a reason it is called UNDERwear",and then later you wrote it would've been OK if she had made the straps flat. Well, they are flat. So what is wrong with the situation here? seriously I'm asking, WTF is wrong with the way she's dressed? I think you need to re-examine your whole attitude toward this issue . You write that her attire is "not appropriate"for portraiture... which in my estimation is "a moral judgment " that you are making. oh my god she's showing a little tiny bit of her underwear, so she must be what??? no you are definitely moralizing here, and yet you fail to see it. I suppose you feel really negative about logo t-shirts too, right? seriously I'm not just running the stuff to piss you off, but rather to challeng your sexist hegemony.


Despite your protestations, you are making a moral judgment here, and it is not coming across as a good reflection on you. You have given us conflicting accounts of how you feel about this, and have tried to likened it to a mistake in the placement of a ring stone or the clasp of a necklace, but this is definitely something else. I'm tired of going back-and-forth with you about this. Make up your mind, And stop equivocating. we get it ...we got it the first time. You know, the time when you wrote "there's a reason it is called UNDERwear." seriously, it's 2019, and the sight of a bra strap should not cause you to impose your moral code on some woman who was probably born pretty close to the turn of this, century not the middle of the last century. i'm serious with the 1985 and 2019 references. You say you can't find your calendar…

 

[Derrel]

I do not look at this bra strap issue as a thread derailement. The OP asked for c and c, And one of the moderators suggested that her underwear was inappropriate to be seen . If somebody is going to bring up his own opinion in a C in C, well he better be prepared to defend it.

The original poster pretty much gave us carte blanche as far as C and C goes, And he provided us with no details on the XP pen which he used for retouching on this photo.

There have been two people attempting to call this a derailment, and one of those people brought up a comment that was not received positively, and he is one of the two people calling this a "derailment", but it is a _direct addressing_of his comments in his post. Sorry to challenge, but I am not in the mood to let the morality police and the portrait experts go uncontested,unchallenged, and let ideas from decades past go without examination. As I wrote several times, it is no longer 1985 but rather 2019. We are almost two full decades into this current century and here we have some dude in his 50's telling us that it is inappropriate to see visible bra straps No, it is not...go to the mall today Had the original poster photographed a man with a beard, would one of the commenters have offered a c&c comment that the beard should've been trimmed more neatly, or shaved off? Seriously, you can call my response a derailment, but I'm not the person who brought this issue about visible straps up in the first place, but I am here to defend her right to dress as she wishes in her own portraits.

 

[Tinstafl115 111]

I don’t care about the straps. That is a fashion decision for her and you. The lighting on her body and face could be a bit brighter. Rain=ght now her leg is the brightest. I run in to that issue myself. I would add a bit of exposure up her side to her face. The legs and wall are great leading lines.

 

[tirediron]

...I'm not the person who brought this issue about visible straps up in the first place, but I am here to defend her right to dress as she wishes in her own portraits.

No... I brought it up. Deditionem I.

 

[terri33 4]

I know she's a female but she can make her own choices… This is not you taking care of a customer but rather imposing an outdated idea of a dress code in the 21st century. this is not some empty airheaded female who doesn't know that her bra straps are showing… This is a common and deliberate fashion choice among today's younger people… Like I said it's no longer 1985, but rather 2019

it is not a minor detail. It is a major point of style, and I think it is insulting to impose your sense of what is appropriate as far attire goes This is not about a shirt that doesn't fit, this is about imposing your will upon your subject, your ideas of how to dress,on your subject. you wrote that it is "not appropriate". are you her father? Are you her boyfriend or husband? It is about as insulting as telling a man that he should add a necktie. your opinion is about asoutdated as The mandatory wearing of an undershirt with a button front shirt… Wearing of undershirts for men went out 30 years ago roughly, but old folks still referred to it as nasty for years. Just as my father called the Beatles those long-haired hippie dudes. Times change, but apparently some people don't… Seriously though, your point of view is old-fashioned and outdated and imposes a moral code upon women. imagine if she had gone braless ;Would it be your job as a photographer to tell her to put on a bra? Seriously though it's her bra. apparently you think it's her duty to conform to your 1960s birth ideas?

Seriously, you can call my response a derailment, but I'm not the person who brought this issue about visible straps up in the first place, but I am here to defend her right to dress as she wishes in her own portraits.

 

[johngpt]

PAIGE1 by James Cason, on Flickr

Just practicing and trying to learn D&B. I use a mouse but my wife bought me a pen and tablet. its not a wacom or whatever but a XP pen.. anyone use one before?

I googled for the XP pen and tablet. It looks like it should do the job quite well. It seems that there are various models at a range of price points, some of which seem to cost as much as Wacom.
I'm using an old and small Wacom Bamboo which works nicely. Between varying the flow of the brush tool and using luminosity masks through which to paint, I have a lot of control over the dodging and burning you mentioned in your original post.
I Ctrl click on a luminosity based channel to create a selection and paint with the brush tool with various opacities or flow with white or black onto layers set to overlay or softlight blend mode. The luminosity selections constrain the paint to self feathered areas. This lets one gradually build up the effect. One can also reduce opacity of that layer itself if needed.
I rarely use the dodge tool or burn tool now.
I think I've hinted at a few things which might keep you busy researching.

If you are intending to do a lot of portraiture you might also want to research what's called frequency separation.