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DPChallenge Forums >> Individual Photograph Discussion >> It's a little late... but thoughts???
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 12/07/2012 09:18:41 AM · #1
I am pleased with my High Contrast entry, and where it placed. But I would like your thoughts/opinions/advice/critiques/criticism of the shot...



It received a fav and had some very nice comments... which is wonderful! I'm super thrilled.
Just wanted to get alternate opinions.

Thanks guys and gals!!!
 12/07/2012 09:22:50 AM · #2
Left a comment...
 12/07/2012 09:51:02 AM · #3
Originally posted by NikonJeb:
Left a comment...


Thanks!
This is my neighbors daughter... she's a handful... and trying to get a good shot of her is like 1 in 1000 shots.
She's so full of energy and on the go, that freezing the motion with her is hard to do... I got lucky with that shot. lol
 12/07/2012 10:11:50 AM · #4
first of all -- I think you processed it beautifully, and it is a wonderful picture.

I have a couple of thoughts, but it's easier to show than tell -- do you mind if I do a quick edit? If not would you rather I send it in a PM?
12/07/2012 10:13:28 AM · #5
Originally posted by vawendy:
first of all -- I think you processed it beautifully, and it is a wonderful picture.

I have a couple of thoughts, but it's easier to show than tell -- do you mind if I do a quick edit? If not would you rather I send it in a PM?


Edit away. I don't mind at all. I love seeing others opinions! :)
Just be sure to walk me through the steps so I know what to think about in the future.
12/07/2012 10:39:26 AM · #6
Ok -- now I had to go back and work some more, because I didn't really have steps -- just one step. :)

I like the shot, but the thing that bothered me the most was the pov, or at least I thought it was the point of view. The shirt seemed to get too much of the attention. Yet that's the pov you get when shooting the swings (I like the angle a lot, btw).

But then I figured it was just that the shirt was too bright, so I added a neutral density gradient to tone it down.



But I think part of the issue is that it's really not that high of a contrast. Look at her face. Is all very soft shades. There's darks in the jacket and in the eyes. But really, it's just some beautiful soft tones (imo. I think people's opinions varied quite a bit on this challenge.)

Take a look at adding strong contrast to your shot:



and if you look at them side by side, you'll get more of a feel of how soft the tones are in the original.

Also, one thing you could do is bring out more contrast in the original to bring out the hair more:



and then up the contrast:



I'd probably go for a combination of them for high contrast:



I'm not saying I like any of these particular options (although I like bringing out more contrast in the hair), but just giving you an idea of what some people may have been looking for in a high contrast challenge. :D

Message edited by author 2012-12-07 10:57:02.
 12/07/2012 11:11:40 AM · #7
vawendy,

I like that you took the time to do this. I tried the High Contrast option in topaz, but I didn't like how dark it made things.

I do think that, after looking back at the original compared to the edits you did, there was a little too much "grey" in the photo.

But... I think that after seeing the variations, I would have stuck with the original image, even if an alternate would have scored better because it would have "fit the challenge" better.

But you did give me some options to look at trying out in the future.
Thanks again! :)
 12/07/2012 12:45:35 PM · #8
I especially like how you detailed the changes and showed the effect. I don't think I've learned so much from a single post before...

Bravo and thank you

PS : I loved the original too... I've always liked diag lines and the chains really gave depth and a story for me.
 12/07/2012 01:25:21 PM · #9
Originally posted by Denielle:
vawendy,

I like that you took the time to do this. I tried the High Contrast option in topaz, but I didn't like how dark it made things.

I do think that, after looking back at the original compared to the edits you did, there was a little too much "grey" in the photo.

But... I think that after seeing the variations, I would have stuck with the original image, even if an alternate would have scored better because it would have "fit the challenge" better.

But you did give me some options to look at trying out in the future.
Thanks again! :)


Yup -- I liked it too. :) I was just giving feedback regarding the high contrast part. :)
12/07/2012 05:39:37 PM · #10
I liked the shot, IMO it could be in a much better position.

I agree with Wendy, some people could have thought it was not high contrast enough and voted accordingly. I like her expression and the background bokeh.
 12/07/2012 06:14:39 PM · #11
Hey Denielle!

Since you were giving out images to play with I took the time to check this out.

Here is my rework of your image!



I brought it into lightroom and found overall the image was overexposed by about 1 stop. I am not sure what you metered off of, but I found the face and shirt area (Highlights) was overexposed but retrievable, and your shadows in the jacket sleeves were clipped by a lot to be irretrievable. (No matter!)

I fixed exposure globally by bringing down the exposure slider overall by 1 stop. I then brought down the white point so there was no clipping. (In PSE I think this could be done in program with levels and looking at the histogram while moving the slider)

I then applied a layer mask and brought the exposure down by one more stop localized to the face and shirt only. (again, levels)

I upped the highlights and shadows globally (Highlights/shadows tool in PSE)

Bumped up the contrast globally

Slight tone curve adjustment to give more highlights.

A bit more unsharp mask to make it pop.

A nice dark vignette to focus the viewer on the face and eyes.

Hope you like it.


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