Color and lighting

[benttop]

I quite like this image, but I can't help thinking that it could be better somehow. But I'm stumped as to how to get it there. Suggestions? Ideas? Am I even close?http://www.photography-on-the.net/forum/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif

http://www.pbase.com/benttop/image/42819830.jpg

[John Trogdon]

I think it looks very nice. Have you made an attempt at B/W? It's about the only other thing I can think of.

[DxHatchback]

i like it better in color

id leave it just as it is

[benttop]

Thanks for your input. :D

[Titus213]

Color, color, color...

I'll tell you, if I could get one this good I'd stop messing with it....The color selection is excellent and suits the subject well. The background color being picked up in the shirt is a plus. Sharp and clean with a facial expression that would be hard to beat and certainly tough to duplicate. Looks very natural and relaxed. Nice job!

[benttop]

Well thanks for that! I've had my 20D since September of '04 and I feel I'm getting the hang of the instrument, but the post seems to have me mystified to a degree. I really like it when the shot is great without any post processing required, but this one wasn't one of those - the background was an ugly wall and door, and the lighting needed some help too. I'm gratified that everyone seems to like it - maybe I'm catching on just a little... :D

[PhotosGuy]

I like them both, but the 1st one is too yellow. If you adjust that, the sidelight will turn bluer which would be more acceptable i think.

[benttop]

Someone else commented about the yellow (off this forum), and I've been experimenting with some color adjustements. But that tends to make the selection around his hair stand out more... But it does improve his skin tone, so I may have to do another selection around his face so that I can adjust that without fouling up his hair.

Update: I didn't have to make another selection. I also removed the hot spot on his forehead. I think this is improved:

http://www.pbase.com/benttop/image/42937010.jpg

[PhotosGuy]

It's lighter & looks better, but still yellow. Have you calibrated your monitor lately? Things can change from month to month! ;-)

[benttop]

No calibration... I'm working on a laptop here, so I wouldn't be surprised if there are some calibration differences. I guess it just takes money, no? :D

[benttop]

A second thought about this image though. The real issue is that I can see it's not right, but I'm not sure what to do about it. Calibration is fine for hardware, but my BRAIN needs calibration also. That's basically what I'm doing here in the first place, I guess. Now that you say the image is too yellow, I can see that to some degree, but before you said it, all I could see is that something was wrong.

The technology is the easy part it seems. Developing the eye for what is wrong, and the knowhow of what to do as a response is the real challenge. Thanks for the help in this regard.

Steve

[benttop]

ok, one more pass on this. I think this one looks best of the three...


http://www.pbase.com/benttop/image/42972314.jpg

[Jredtugboat]

ok, one more pass on this. I think this one looks best of the three...
<snip>



I like that you removed the hotspot. But comparing this to the first in the thread, don't you think the first jumps out a little more? It has a certain spark and energy. By comparison, the third seems a little flat.

Your model, by the way, is splendid--the expression of calm and ease is great, and I love that background. His whole face just pops out of the photo.

Hey, my eyes aren't the best trained in the world, but it's just what I was thinking at the time. Hope this helps...

yours,

Julian

[benttop]

Looking at all three on my picture web where I can quickly compare, I see what you mean, but I think part of that is from subracting a lot of color. I think the yellow cast is because of the lighting source - a very large sliding glass door just about three feet to the left of the subject. I had plenty of light, but it was late afternoon light.

I guess it's all subjective anyway, but the discussion and opinions are all helping me, which was why I posted. Thanks!

[Croasdail]

well.... I sort of liked it with more of a yellow cast to it. It balanced well with the back ground colors. As the tone has gone more white the subject has become colder and harsher - almost looking overly grey. Being a little more grey then I would like naturally, I am not sure I would want a picture of myself that emphasized that color. If the skin tones could be warmed up just a touch... but then again my screens calibration is probably off and it is fine for everyone else.

[PhotosGuy]

I agree that the last one looks much better. I had a few minutes so decided to play with it a bit. Here's the results along with a screen shot of the Adj Layer & mask, 'cause it's easier to show than to describe. ;)

What I did:
Selective Color:
RED
C -2
M-3
B-13

YELLOW
Y -43
B -21

Adjustment layer - Levels
9 1.42 255

Then I added a Layer Mask & painted black the areas that I wanted to hide the adjustment from.
What do you think?

[DavidEB]

I like the yellow one. In that picture, his white beard looks white. In the last one, his white beard looks a little blue (to me, anyways).

It's an excellent portrait -- I'd be proud of it.

[Jredtugboat]

Looking at all three on my picture web where I can quickly compare, I see what you mean, but I think part of that is from subracting a lot of color. I think the yellow cast is because of the lighting source - a very large sliding glass door just about three feet to the left of the subject. I had plenty of light, but it was late afternoon light.

I guess it's all subjective anyway, but the discussion and opinions are all helping me, which was why I posted. Thanks!

Yeah...I certainly agree with that subjective bit. Looking at all of them now, I see certain things that I like in ALL of them. Personally I like warm glows on skin tones, but that's just me (and might have to do with the fact that I'm part Asian, so that warm/darker tone looks "natural" to me).

Anyway, I want to echo what's been said by others: it's a great shot, and you should be proud of it.

yours,

Julian

[benttop]

Thanks, I am pretty proud of the shot. That's why I decided to work on it a bit to see if I could make it a keeper. But the more I look at these, the more I don't like the ones without the yellow. It probably significantly influences me that I know this gentleman, and I can say without question that his skin is not pale pink as in the last couple of examples. So... I'm going to do another experiment here to see if I can arrive at a color that truly represents how he looks without making it appear overly yellow. A worthy challenge, for a worthy image!

Meantime I'm finding uses for tools in Photoshop that I didn't even realize were there!

[benttop]

OK, I think this is the winner overall. Unfortunatley, I didn't learn much from this version, because I pushed the Auto Color button and this is what came out. But if you compare, this version has considerably more depth.

http://www.pbase.com/benttop/image/43004121.jpg
So I would be interested in hearing an explanation from anyone who understands what happened here. I hate it when I have to resort to the auto buttons - no learning involved at all! How can I duplicate this manually?

Steve

[Croasdail]

More natural looking for sure.... that dang auto button is so hit and miss.