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W.Z.
Member
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# Posted: 10 Feb 08 11:37
Reply
Hi All,
I've been playing around recently with many different ways to change saturation, light and contrast.
Could you please tell me what you think about the following shots? Not so much about the compo, subject, perspective,... (criticism on these is also most welcome ofcourse) but mostly on
- hue, saturation & temperature,
- contrast & light,
- amount & hardness of vignetting.
Thanks a lot for your feedback.
Kind Regards,
W.Z.
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scarlet
Member
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# Posted: 10 Feb 08 15:21
Reply
Love the light in the first one (sorry, love isn't very objective) but the hues in the picture of your baby seem very cold to me and not suitable to the subject. The baby is beyond adorable, of course!
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ortho158
Member
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# Posted: 10 Feb 08 15:21
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Did you add vignetting? If so, I prefer that you did not do it. Also, I prefer warmer tones, and more color saturation.
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Oscar_
Moderator
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# Posted: 10 Feb 08 16:03
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I agree with scarlet and ortho. The pictures are not that warm, they are very cold. The baby picture has something special with the light but is imo to cold.
Regards,
Oscar
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fotogravenswaay
Member
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# Posted: 10 Feb 08 16:19
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hmm, in the first picture it fits well what you did IMO, but I have to agree with the others about the second picture, the subject isn't that suitable for this kind of retouching. ....the compo PoV and DoF although in the second picture is IMO okay, but it needs more "warm" colours....
ruud
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sawsengee
Member
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# Posted: 10 Feb 08 16:57
Reply
Hello W.Z.,
First Picture: vignetting and purple fringing is evident especially on the top left hand corner; the colour is cold with an overhue on green and purple; furthermore, the picture lacks punch e.g. the contrast is rather blend and the tree line has not enough detail definition.
Second Picture: the composition is attractive but the colour needs warming up to give the skin tone of the baby more freshness; the light is too intense on the left side of the picture thus leaving the baby's right side of the face overburnt and lack skin detail.
Best regards........sawsengee
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Ruud~
Member
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# Posted: 10 Feb 08 17:33
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Hi WZ,
I like the portrait. My first thought is that you must have used Soft Light blend mode (with a full colour layer on top of a B&W layer). Did you?
Both the subdued colour and the high contrast feel natural. It seems as if they are 'part of the picture' instead of an effect that has been 'added' to it. It's a beautiful effect.
I'm not so sure about the vignette. It lies 'on top of the photo'. It's too dark and regular. The eye can easily trace its shape and the underlying picture has to compete with it for attention. I think you should make it a little less regular and reduce it by some 90% or so.
But don't take me too seriously, I can't do this sort of thing myself.
Greetz,
Ruud
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A.Miguel Oliveira
Member
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# Posted: 10 Feb 08 20:37
Reply
Wilfrid, if I hadn't read the answers, mine would be mostly like Sawsengee's!
Compo, subjects and perspectives are very nice!
Best regards,
Miguel
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TBM
Member
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# Posted: 10 Feb 08 20:40
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Ansel Adams said that vignetting is impotant to prevent the eye from "going out" from the composition (please note that he was talking about his pictures, and I think that if a Master like him has such a concern, we all shoud be rather worried about this point).
The problem is that vignetting should not be used in pictures with a white sky (like your tractor), because it looks very innatural. I use it only when the margins of the pictures are dense enough to bear it, otherwise I prefer a simple black frame.
This is my personal opinion, I would be glad to know if the other members agree.
I like your portrait very much. It is true what Sawengsee says about the excessive contrast, but sometimes breaking the rules is a good idea. And I like the cold tones, they take away that "hey, look at my child, isn't he cute?" touch.
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grumpyman
Member
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# Posted: 10 Feb 08 21:28
Reply
Try just viewing them black and white like ive just done and the tones you've used have just looked better, i always use colder tones for black and whites and warmer for colour as low saturation in colour looks deathly.
Good composition though and nice subject matter just try viewing in black and white before you change the saturation up more than down to B/W.
Regards jonny
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grumpyman
Member
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# Posted: 10 Feb 08 21:29
Reply
ps Also agree with TMB though about breaking moulds its all about personal taste in the end.
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W.Z.
Member
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# Posted: 10 Feb 08 22:11
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Hi all,
thanks a lot for the great feedback!
@ortho: don't you like vignetting at all or just on these photo's?
@sawsengee: for the green: I did change yellow hue a bit (I think about 4 or 5 up), but I didn't change anything about cyan or magenta. So I'm not sure where the purple jumped in.
@ruud~: lol, two layers: one b&w with darkening on green & red, lightning up on blue for the overexposure of the left hand side of the face, second layer is indeed an oversaturated layer with 47% transparancy. For the blend I used the hard light one but I softened it a bit lowering the fill and contrast. (can't remember how much)
@tbm: thanks for the info, this is the first time that I added vignetting in the raw to tiff conversion, normally I only add it just before adding the frame. I didn't even think about the very light sky. You're absolutely right.
@all: about the temperature, the reason I've tried this approach on saturation is because I like heavy saturation in shadow-parts and lower saturation in highlights. Because of the blending with a b&w layer the temperature has dropped quite a bit as well I guess. I was so focused on getting that result, that I forgot all about the temperature matching the subject. LOL!!! I'll try to change this and post the results.
What do you all think about photos published in newspapers? This is what made me try this. Because of the grey-ish look of cheap recycled paper, you get allmost the same effect I think. Do you maintain the same view on the temperature or is a colder looking pic ok in a newspaper because of the informatif and dry character? (just looking for ideas, no disagreeing with your comments at all, on the contrary).
And at the same time I'm really interested in a discussion about saturation, because there are many different ideas and tastes about this subject I guess.
Thanks for the feedback & useful criticism.
Kind Regards,
Wesley
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A.Miguel Oliveira
Member
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# Posted: 10 Feb 08 22:17
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Wesley, sorry to have changed your name (I had just seen wilfrid pics before  ).
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W.Z.
Member
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# Posted: 10 Feb 08 22:23
Reply
Miguel,... punnishment will be severe!  no probs.
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