Your vote needed......Before & After as well

[taygull]

OK guys,

I've been on a large commercial project now with about 80 hours of photoshop work building a 42 page album. I hope to share it with you guys in the next month.

The theme has to do with Texas and the entire attitude that is Texas.

On the images below there will be logo that will go in the bottom right that has to do with the project.

I'd be curious which of these two you like better.

I'm also going to do something that I don't normally do and that is show the before any edit straight from the camera and my final image. I feel I've gotten pretty good at doing this as it only took me about 45 minutes from start to finish.

There is one very specific thing I don't like about one of the images and I'd be curious if anyone picks it out. I would bet Rene would.:lol:

I've actually already submitted one of these for the cover shot and it is at the printer but I could change it if I had to. I don't think I will but I'd be curious what you guys think.

I am keeping the name of the project confidential at the request of the client.

#1 Before

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m16/taygull/bIMG_3635.jpg

#1 After

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m16/taygull/cover1.jpg

#2 Before

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m16/taygull/bIMG_3646.jpg

#2 After

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m16/taygull/cover_no_guitar.jpg

Here is some very cool history on the mic used in the shoot. It gave me goose bumps just touching it!

Story as told by the current owner, a good friend.

The microphone is an old Shure 55SW. I received it from a Memphis session player (we'll call him T-Bone to preserve his identity) who spent a majority of his life playing, singing and sometimes even "fixing" well-known performer's parts who were not "up-to-snuff" on some of the most famous recordings to come from that area.

In 1985, T-Bone worked as a "go-fer" for Sam Phillips at the world-famous Sun Studios during the sessions for the "Class of '55" Reunion record (Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison and Carl Perkins). According to T-Bone, this mic was used in the studio for many years, with many famous and infamous singers cutting tracks with it. At one point, Sam had the microphone gold-plated and subsequently stashed it away to preserve it's "mojo"! As a token of Sam's appreciation to T-Bone for his work not only during the sessions, but as a mainstay of the Memphis music scene, he gave T-Bone this microphone that was tucked in his desk drawer in a faded green velvet Chivas Royal Salute bag!

As with all good stories, there are always some embellishments that accompany those tales through time, but the provenance that has been provided to me along with the acquisition of the microphone lead me to believe that "...if this mike could talk..."

It is believed this mic has been used by all the greats that have gone through Sun Records including Elvis and those mentioned above!

Here is a shot of the mic.

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m16/taygull/webSunRecordsMic.jpg

[taygull]

I've added a shot of the mic to the thread.

[johnstoy]

I voted for #one...

#two, looks staged, canned, phony...not like a singer reaching a high note, or singing a loud note...it looks like some guy shouting...high, or loud notes aren't shouted, they are sung...

(Since, for many years, I sung with some of the best musicians and TV/movie celebrities in the country... I can tell a shouting person from a trained singing person...)

[Grey56]

I voted for the first one because as a photograph, it's more about your subject - I feel that the second one is more about the artist himself. Because you can't see the face in the first, you are more able to take the info you're given (namely the AWESOME hat) and infer that it's all about Texas.

Hope that made sense.

[taygull]

I voted for #one...

#two, looks staged, canned, phony...not like a singer reaching a high note, or singing a loud note...it looks like some guy shouting...high, or loud notes aren't shouted, they are sung...

(Since, for many years, I sung with some of the best musicians and TV/movie celebrities in the country... I can tell a shouting person from a trained singing person...)

John,

Then you don't know country music...Texas style.

He was actually singing acupala...he is a tremendous talent. He was a staff writer in Nashville for 10 years has multiple CD's and written with the best including Rodney Crowell......

His live shows are as energetic as the image above....

Maybe they don't don't shout up there but they sure do here...ever see Garth Brooks?;)

[hauff]

I like #1 the best, it does seem to suit your theme better than the other shot. I don't however, like the light reflection on the guitar in the image.

Love the mic story btw...

[johnstoy]

It just isn't appealing...

I don't remember anyone shouting or looking like that when I lived out west for nearly 11 yrs...

I'd rather see a picture like #1 anyhow...

[PhotoJourno]

Thanks for sharing the story. I did spend a great deal of time looking at the microphone. But as far as the Bef and Aft photos, I would have to say I like the very last one, before the short story. It shows more of the texan spirit (Either that or it is a puerto rican country singer). Either way, I really like it.

Congrats.

[gacon1]

Vote for #1

[René Damkot]

Nice images!
I like #2 best, but that's mainly because there are a few minor things I'd have liked different on #1:
1) Moire on the hat.
2) Either not enough or too much face: Looks like the hat is not on straight.

Nice set though, and lovely microphone!

[taygull]

Thanks guys,

Not sure what you mean on #1 Rene'? "Moire on the hat". The hat is on straight, I don't like the hat at all. The way he has it "styled" is the sides are crunched in as far is it can get. For me I wanted just enough face to show his stuble and grit, I think we got that.

Since no one has pointed it out here are my thoughts.....

#1 is more about Texas then the performer, for me it fits the show to make it more about the over experience then an individual. I like the "mystery" in the shot.

#2. Here is what I just can't get past. His hand looks freaking huge! I am just concerned that when this prints on a 13x13 cover it will even look larger!

I'm thinking the reason the hand does look a big is two reasons. I changed the perspective in #2 in Photoshop so his head did not look so big. When using the distort filter it does a fantastic job of putting getting the top of of the image to look better with the bottom. The problem is as the top pulls away the hand/middle of the image stayed where it is, thus making the hand look large.

I shot these with my 5D and my 17-40L at 17mm. I'm starting to wonder if I had shot them a greater focal length would I have not had that "wide angle" look/distortion?

Anyway......I hope to share the overall book once I get a release from the show.

Thanks for all the replies..

John you have got to get out more......I'm not going to take the time to find the millions of shots of performers "screaming" but they do....you won't see Christopher Cross do it or the Beach Boys but take a look at the Stones or Aerosmith or some of the very upbeat acts and you will see this.

[bacchanal]

...high, or loud notes aren't shouted, they are sung...

Well, you've obviously never watched American Idol or listened to pop radio....:lol::lol:

I actually like #2 in general and like Mario said, it shows that Texas attitude. The lighting on his face is really nice too. But I agree with the others that #1 has more emphasis on the mic. I'm going to have to go with #2, it just grabs me a bit more.

[taygull]

I really don't want the emphasis on the mic...I would suspect if I had not told the mic story it would have just been seen as a prop.

I agree on #2 but I just can't get past the "man hand" (ala Seinfeld, LOL).

[narlus]

I voted for #one...

#two, looks staged, canned, phony...not like a singer reaching a high note, or singing a loud note...it looks like some guy shouting...

could be the attitude of texas coming through. ;)

[johnstoy]

Well, you've obviously never watched American Idol or listened to pop radio....:lol::lol:


You're right....I don't find time to watch Americal Idol...It's never been my cup of tea... The few glimpses I've caught of the Idol contestants are so bad, it's not worth the time spent just to catch a few minutes of some real good talent...

What's pop radio got to do with this anyway? I listen to a web radio station 24/7...

I just don't get where you're coming from on this one...

[johnstoy]

could be the attitude of Texas coming through. ;)

As a retired Resort marketing executive, and a past senior executive vice president of Texas' largest and most successful resort marketing company... I certainly wouldn't want to scare the kids at my resorts, with some screaming yahoo's picture on every coffee table in the house...:lol: :lol:

[Steve Parr]

Chris, I erroneously voted I for number # 2, but I like #1 (after)...

[taygull]

Chris, I erroneously voted I for number # 2, but I like #1 (after)...

Thanks.......I was thinking of changing the cover to #1 but after thinking and sleeping on it #1 it is.

[taygull]

As a retired Resort marketing executive, and a past senior executive vice president of Texas' largest and most successful resort marketing company... I certainly wouldn't want to scare the kids at my resorts, with some screaming yahoo's picture on every coffee table in the house...:lol: :lol:

ahhh yes John...but things have changed in the last 20 years!:lol:

[bmoguy]

I went with 2. When I looked at the pictures, I saw totally different things in each.

#1 has that mystery quality and is laid back, just a little too laid back, laid back to the point I wondered if he was awake. (after all, I couldn't see his eyes) :D The mystery is that he's sitting there with a guitar in his lap (not hands) in front of a mic - what's he waiting for.

#2 has some energy to it. It does seem exaggerated - both his facial expression while singing and the WA/camera perspective (which I assumed was intentional).

So for me I was trying to match "Texas and the entire attitude that is Texas" with being either laidback/mysterious or enrgetic/boisterous, and went with energetic.

[bacchanal]

What's pop radio got to do with this anyway? I listen to a web radio station 24/7...

I mean like those mix rock/r&b type stations...that just seem like a constant shouting match...even the djs are always yelling...it's like when Seymore gets pissed off at the radio in the movie Ghost World. I don't know, maybe it's just here in the midwest...where there are very few (decent) independent radio stations anymore. FWIW, I try to listen to last.fm at work when I can get away with it.

...but, um yeah...I still like #2.

[johnstoy]

Chris,

The book looks great...we established that earlier... I would choose the middle of the road type of stuff targeting the desired clientèle.

The beer drinking crowd is not what you're after... Since the book is so good overall, there is wiggle room for experimentation with one or two pics... but I'd keep an even keel, till you get lots of positive feedback from your clients...

Yes it may have been 20 years since Texas, but not from the industry... I actually moved up the executive ladder and continually found that the upper middle class was the target area for week long destination resort vacationers. I'm uncertain exactly what your target group is (we won't discuss it here), but it think it needs to be at least, in the upper middle class.

[taygull]

Funny there is a target but there isn't one.

It is more about communicating what the show is.......

[René Damkot]

Thanks guys,

Not sure what you mean on #1 Rene'? "Moire on the hat". The hat is on straight, I don't like the hat at all. The way he has it "styled" is the sides are crunched in as far is it can get. For me I wanted just enough face to show his stuble and grit, I think we got that.

I noted the sides of the hat, and agree with you there, but I'm not 'into' cowboy hats, so figured it was supposed to look like that ;)
This is the shot where I mind the sides of the hat most BTW.

The 'moiré': Looks like a fingerprint on the hat in #1. (Could also be BC of downsizing.)

#1 is more about Texas then the performer,
Agreed.

#2. Here is what I just can't get past. His hand looks freaking huge! I am just concerned that when this prints on a 13x13 cover it will even look larger!

I'm thinking the reason the hand does look a big is two reasons. I changed the perspective in #2 in Photoshop so his head did not look so big. When using the distort filter it does a fantastic job of putting getting the top of of the image to look better with the bottom. The problem is as the top pulls away the hand/middle of the image stayed where it is, thus making the hand look large.

Yeah, but the feet got wider, so proportionally the hands don't seem to get larger to me...

I shot these with my 5D and my 17-40L at 17mm. I'm starting to wonder if I had shot them a greater focal length would I have not had that "wide angle" look/distortion?

Sure. It's the extreme perspective: The hands are about half the distance to the camera then the body, so they appear almost twice as large. I don't mind however, I think it adds to the image in this case. (I wouldn't mind a large head either)

You could try the lens correction filter in PS. The 17-40 has quite a bit of barrel distortion. If you remove that, the hands might get smaller, since the center is 'compressed'.
I've used correction of about -17 or so on shots with the 17-40 IIRC, so quite extreme.

[taygull]

I noted the sides of the hat, and agree with you there, but I'm not 'into' cowboy hats, so figured it was supposed to look like that ;)
This is the shot where I mind the sides of the hat most BTW.

The 'moiré': Looks like a fingerprint on the hat in #1. (Could also be BC of downsizing.)


Agreed.



Yeah, but the feet got wider, so proportionally the hands don't seem to get larger to me...



Sure. It's the extreme perspective: The hands are about half the distance to the camera then the body, so they appear almost twice as large. I don't mind however, I think it adds to the image in this case. (I wouldn't mind a large head either)

You could try the lens correction filter in PS. The 17-40 has quite a bit of barrel distortion. If you remove that, the hands might get smaller, since the center is 'compressed'.
I've used correction of about -17 or so on shots with the 17-40 IIRC, so quite extreme.

Thanks, I will try that correction tonight!

[blackshadow]

My preference is definitely for #2 and loved the mic story.

My perception of Texas spirit is one of rebelliousness (rightly or wrongly) and while #1 is a great shot the fact that the subject is rather passive but with #2 he could be delivering one hell of a rebel yell.