She's seven - DPChallenge Forums

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Pentax

12/23/2006 12:52:14 AM · #1

Just going through my shots from my granddaughters' birthday party when I came across this image of my sweet seven year old gd, Nadia. She is a charmer, but this candid just took my breath away.

Is this just a "grandma" bias, or is there really an essence being caught here?

Thanks in advance for your impressions.
I hope you enjoy it.
Becky

Message edited by author 2006-12-23 00:54:02.

Artyste

Sony Ericsson W810i

12/23/2006 12:53:54 AM · #2

Most stunning. Takes my breath away. The essense of nothingness that you've captured mixed with the subtle flavor of an empty soul brings a feeling of loss and...

oh.. wait..

you just forgot the link ;)

*EDIT*

Oh.. THERE it is!

I'll leave a comment .. (it's the least I can do for giving you a hard time)

Message edited by author 2006-12-23 00:54:52.

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Pentax

12/23/2006 12:55:45 AM · #3

Originally posted by Artyste:

I saw that after the post - went back to put the image in and put in the wrong number. Got this one instead:

Somehow, that changes the whole tone of the post!

Artyste

Sony Ericsson W810i

12/23/2006 01:00:48 AM · #4

Originally posted by rjkstesch:

Originally posted by Artyste:
Most stunning. Takes my breath away. The essense of nothingness that you've captured mixed with the subtle flavor of an empty soul brings a feeling of loss and...

oh.. wait..

you just forgot the link ;)

I saw that after the post - went back to put the image in and put in the wrong number. Got this one instead:

Somehow, that changes the whole tone of the post!

HAHAHA.. so it does.

jmsetzler

Sony Alpha a6000

Sony 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 E-mount

12/23/2006 01:02:23 AM · #5

In photoshop, load this image, open the channel mixer, check the monochrome box, set the red channel to 100% (should be default) and click ok :)

DjFenzl

12/23/2006 01:06:46 AM · #6

Originally posted by rjkstesch:

Very cute :)

Sony 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 E-mount

12/23/2006 01:10:35 AM · #7

Originally posted by jmsetzler:

In photoshop, load this image, open the channel mixer, check the monochrome box, set the red channel to 100% (should be default) and click ok :)

Like this?

I really like the effect.

jmsetzler

Sony Alpha a6000

12/23/2006 01:11:36 AM · #8

Originally posted by rjkstesch:

Like this?

I really like the effect.

yup.

12/23/2006 01:12:38 AM · #9

Artyste,

Thanks - It's shot with a 50mm 1.8 lens, indoor in subdued light.

Here'd a copy of the original jpg. I worked it up from the RAW.

Sony 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 E-mount

12/23/2006 01:16:16 AM · #10

So, what makes you chose 100% red channel, rather than a mixture of the channels? Personal preference, natural starting place, or other? I'm sure others would love to know, too.

Thanks.

Originally posted by jmsetzler:

Originally posted by rjkstesch:

Like this?

I really like the effect.

yup.

jmsetzler

Sony Alpha a6000

12/23/2006 01:22:20 AM · #11

Originally posted by rjkstesch:

So, what makes you chose 100% red channel, rather than a mixture of the channels? Personal preference, natural starting place, or other? I'm sure others would love to know, too.

Thanks.

In this particular case, because of the way it made the skin tones pop and the amount of contrast it created.

I use the channel mixer fairly exclusively for black and white conversion. The amounts of various colors you use is learned by trial and error mostly. When you play with these sliders, a general rule of thumb is that all the percentages need to add up to 100. If you want to add a little contrast to the image, make them add up to 105 or so.

The channel mixer is very useful because it gives you a lot of flexibility in conversion. If you have ever shot black and white film, you know that certain color filters are used to make colors behave the way you want them to in black and white. In this case, we basically emulated shooting with b/w film using a red filter on the lens. This doesn't work for everything though. If she had a red shirt on, that shirt would have turned white with a red filter and black with a blue or green filter... It just takes a little experience to work these things out. Play around with it...

12/23/2006 01:37:21 AM · #12

Here's a version where a fuller-toned B/W variation was overlaid on the color version and the layer faded to about 60% or so.

12/23/2006 01:40:40 AM · #13

Originally posted by jmsetzler:

Originally posted by rjkstesch:
So, what makes you chose 100% red channel, rather than a mixture of the channels? Personal preference, natural starting place, or other? I'm sure others would love to know, too.

Thanks.

In this particular case, because of the way it made the skin tones pop and the amount of contrast it created.

I use the channel mixer fairly exclusively for black and white conversion. The amounts of various colors you use is learned by trial and error mostly. When you play with these sliders, a general rule of thumb is that all the percentages need to add up to 100. If you want to add a little contrast to the image, make them add up to 105 or so.

The channel mixer is very useful because it gives you a lot of flexibility in conversion. If you have ever shot black and white film, you know that certain color filters are used to make colors behave the way you want them to in black and white. In this case, we basically emulated shooting with b/w film using a red filter on the lens. This doesn't work for everything though. If she had a red shirt on, that shirt would have turned white with a red filter and black with a blue or green filter... It just takes a little experience to work these things out. Play around with it...

Black and white is still a bit of a mystery to me. I use the channel mixer almost always for my conversions and have liked the results. I can see that experience with BW film and shooting would really be beneficial in learning this aspect of photography.

I have often "play(ed) around with it", only to feel that I'm not sure which version looks the best. If only there were an easy answer...

12/23/2006 01:44:05 AM · #14

Originally posted by Bear_Music:

Here's a version where a fuller-toned B/W variation was overlaid on the color version and the layer faded to about 60% or so.

R.

Robert, Very nice ... I would not have thought to try that. I'll need to remember that option in other work too.

Becky

12/23/2006 01:46:06 AM · #15

Originally posted by rjkstesch:

Robert, Very nice ... I would not have thought to try that. I'll need to remember that option in other work too.

Becky

It's actually a very useful technique. Sometimes on landscapes you can get more pop by doing a more-contrasty B/W, laying it on as a top layer, and playing with layer modes/opacity for varied results.

R.

Fujifilm XF 18mm f/2 Lens X-Pro1

12/23/2006 01:47:37 AM · #16

Incidentally, you can also lay two different B/W processings on top of each other and play with layer mode/opacity for some subtle changes in how the image presents. There's a LOT of things you can do :-)

R.

nixter

Fujifilm X-Pro 1

12/23/2006 02:21:05 AM · #17

Originally posted by Bear_Music:

Yep, one I use a fair bit, when the B/W conversion with the channel mixer is not quite there, is a selective colour or hue/sat layer or both, under the channel mixer layer. You can then tweek your colours to change the b/w tones.

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 II

12/23/2006 02:30:40 AM · #18

N/M

Message edited by author 2006-12-23 02:31:12.

ShannonLee

Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT

12/23/2006 03:15:39 AM · #19

absolutely gorgeous! i just want to keep looking at it :)

skylercall

Canon EOS-7D

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM

12/23/2006 03:50:02 AM · #20

Originally posted by rjkstesch:

I have often "play(ed) around with it", only to feel that I'm not sure which version looks the best. If only there were an easy answer...

I have found that a lot has to do with your monitor. B&W photos always look horrible on my laptop's LCD but usually look beautifull on my 19" ViewSonic LCD.