...in her absolute loneliness...

"One obvious cause, why many feel not the proper sentiment of beauty, is the want of that 'delicacy' of imagination, which is requisite to convey a sensibility of those finer emotions. This delicacy every one pretends to: Every one talks of it; and would reduce every kind of taste or sentiment to its standards."

 

David Hume "Of the Standard of Taste, 1757"

I understand what you are trying to do here, and I like the negative space, but in my opinion, this one would be 100% better without the grain (or whatever it is) effect.

 

My point is that your photographs are good enough to stand on their own merits, without any added post-shoot effects.

Wow, your comment above is one of the best compliments i've ever got. Here and now, there will be some experiental, digital effects on my photos. In fact, my true desire is to be able to capture this image on very grainy film; i think it will yield a much more pleasant mood than this digital alteration. Thanks for sharing your thought Jim. Warm regards, Tanya.

I don't know what kind of camera/lens you are shooting with. But if you have a film camera, and you are looking for grain, try shooting some Ilford 3200 speed film. Try some shots shooting the film as rated, then do some exposing it at ISO 6400...or even higher. That should give you the grain you are looking for.

Jim, i use Canon D20. Thanks for your input though. Warm regards, Tanya.

Another one in my series of "self-portrait". Thanks for your time.

Warm regards, Tanya.

Looking at your other self portraits, more precise TT6, I too believe that the photo would be great without the grainy texture. Maybe shooting it with a iso 3200 b/w film will give it a more natural feeling grain, but I do not think the photo needs it to be oustanding. Assuming the grain comes from PS, could you post a version without it?

Regards, Maarten

Thank you Maarten for leaving comment. Actually, the original photo was a bit blurry because i moved a little during the shot. I did not retake another shot like this, so i tried to rescue it with PS. Guess it does not work well, but somehow, i still like the feel of the image very much. Thanks again. Best regards, Tanya.