Before and After - The Weekly Editing Challenge

[QUOTE=Big Frost;17708225]Before and After - The Weekly Editing Challenge
...now compiled into a single, easy to locate thread, that can be added to your subscribe/follow list!

Rules are simple:

• Download the image file from the current week
  
  
• Contestants will have 7 days to edit the image and post their edited version to the thread (1 entry per week)
  
  
• The owner of the original image will choose a winner
  
  
• The winner will copy & paste this post and include a new downloadable image link

  The new image must be unedited / SOOC (straight our of camera), full-resolution, and in a RAW format, ie. CR2, DNG, TIF, etc
  (Dropbox works well for uploading and linking these large files)

RawTherapee conversion with a gradient at the neck line to help highlight the face over the dress ruffles, wavelet contrast and noise reduction to give more depth to the facial features, Kodak Portra color sim. Over to the GIMP to knock out some of the background and the red eyes.

My try...

Nice work Renata; Congrats!

Congrats to the last winner. I figured I'd give a shot at the challenge. I never do portraits/people.

I always start off in Lr to do basic corrections. In this case I bumped exposure by 2 stops, set the white balance off the bodice of the dress, got rid of the red eye, removed some blemishes and enhanced the irises a bit. Also increased sharpness to get some more texture in the chiffon of the dress.

Then I went into Nik Define to reduce noise, but masked off the chiffon to not loose any of the texture.

Over to Ps and used autoselect to select the girl going a bit fat on the hair, refined the mask then copied her to a new layer. Made a copy of the entire background layer and moved it under the girl the converted to B&W and reduced brightness and contrast on this layer.

Played with the crop a bit until I decided to go for a loose head-and-shoulders and tilted her to the left. Considered converting the entire thing to black and white but decided to stick with color (but remember, I converted the background to B&W). Added a radial filter for a slight vignette with some sharpness reduction (blur). Warmed up the background just a bit with split toning. Used the selection brush to add a little pink to the chiffon and flowers of the outfit. Quibbled a little more on color vs B&W and ultimately decided on color. Noticed the wrinkles in her neck just after I posted so I went into Ps and got rid of them.

Replaced the background, adjusted colors and contrast to taste.

Guys, I have been bogged down with work; 3 commission paintings on my easel, so give me another day and I will look closely at the entries

itsallart wrote in post #17725784
Guys, I have been bogged down with work; 3 commission paintings on my easel, so give me another day and I will look closely at the entries

Work is sometimes a nice thing to have!

Yes, a precious commodity!

Benitoite wrote in post #17718004
RawTherapee conversion with a gradient at the neck line to help highlight the face over the dress ruffles, wavelet contrast and noise reduction to give more depth to the facial features, Kodak Portra color sim. Over to the GIMP to knock out some of the background and the red eyes.

Nice work with the contrast and noise reduction, red eye removal...I just wish the catch-lights were present

TeamSpeed wrote in post #17718113
My try...

Lovely choice of color for the background; really nice choice for a girl

tytlyf wrote in post #17718173
Congrats to the last winner. I figured I'd give a shot at the challenge. I never do portraits/people.
nice job for not doing portraits I wish the eyes weren't red

Hosted photo: posted by tytlyf in
./showthread.php?p=177​18173&i=i238672493
forum: Competitions

bumpintheroad wrote in post #17718239
I always start off in Lr to do basic corrections. In this case I bumped exposure by 2 stops, set the white balance off the bodice of the dress, got rid of the red eye, removed some blemishes and enhanced the irises a bit. Also increased sharpness to get some more texture in the chiffon of the dress.

Then I went into Nik Define to reduce noise, but masked off the chiffon to not loose any of the texture.

Over to Ps and used autoselect to select the girl going a bit fat on the hair, refined the mask then copied her to a new layer. Made a copy of the entire background layer and moved it under the girl the converted to B&W and reduced brightness and contrast on this layer.

Played with the crop a bit until I decided to go for a loose head-and-shoulders and tilted her to the left. Considered converting the entire thing to black and white but decided to stick with color (but remember, I converted the background to B&W). Added a radial filter for a slight vignette with some sharpness reduction (blur). Warmed up the background just a bit with split toning. Used the selection brush to add a little pink to the chiffon and flowers of the outfit. Quibbled a little more on color vs B&W and ultimately decided on color. Noticed the wrinkles in her neck just after I posted so I went into Ps and got rid of them.

Hosted photo: posted by bumpintheroad in
./showthread.php?p=177​18239&i=i170638614
forum: Competitions

lovely job on the hair color; really love the light gold...I wish it hadn't been cropped that much but it's all a personal preference

rrblint wrote in post #17722608
Replaced the background, adjusted colors and contrast to taste.

Hosted photo: posted by rrblint in
./showthread.php?p=177​22608&i=i44549589
forum: Competitions

Nice job with the background replacement though a little busy

I have to tell you guys how much I hate "judging" other people's work. It's the toughest thing, at least for me. I want to thank you all for your hard work, your creativity, vision etc.
With a lot of heart ache and jumping back and forth between your lovely images I selected Mark aka bumpintheroad as the winner; the overall treatment really appeals to me! Congratulations, Mark.

Congrats!

Thanks Renata. I'll post the next challenge later today.

bumpintheroad wrote in post #17728942
Thanks Renata. I'll post the next challenge later today.

I think that "later today" has already gone by.

Before and After - The Weekly Editing Challenge
...now compiled into a single, easy to locate thread, that can be added to your subscribe/follow list!

Rules are simple:

• Download the image file from the current week
  
• Contestants will have 7 days to edit the image and post their edited version to the thread (1 entry per week)
  
• The owner of the original image will choose a winner
  
• The winner will copy & paste this post and include a new downloadable image link

  The new image must be unedited / SOOC (straight our of camera), full-resolution, and in a RAW format, ie. CR2, DNG, TIF, etc (Dropbox works well for uploading and linking these large files)