How to PP for Delicate Colors - DPChallenge Forums

04/16/2011 06:45:01 PM · #1

I have been struggling trying to get very delicate colors on my Lensbaby daisy photos.

My PP:

No PP compressed:

100% original size JPEG:

The link to the RAW file (Canon):
//www.micquality.com/cycling/photos/IMG_3534.CR2

My aim was to get the kind of delicate colors as on Kathleen Clemons lensbaby photos:
//lensbaby.com/gurus-clemons.php

How do I do it? TIA

Olympus 8mm f/1.8 M.Zuiko Digital ED Fisheye PRO Lens

04/16/2011 07:02:01 PM · #2

I'm not sure how close this is to what you're looking for:

Editing steps:
Started with your PP file
Duplicate layer - mode set to soft light
Duplicate layer - mode set to screen, opacity 50%

04/16/2011 07:06:08 PM · #3

Originally posted by GinaRothfels:

I'm not sure how close this is to what you're looking for:

Editing steps:
Started with your PP file
Duplicate layer - mode set to soft light
Duplicate layer - mode set to screen, opacity 50%

Thanks. I was trying to avoid strong contrast, get more painterly look.
Are these steps in CS5?

Message edited by author 2011-04-16 19:06:55.

Olympus 8mm f/1.8 M.Zuiko Digital ED Fisheye PRO Lens

04/16/2011 07:10:03 PM · #4

Yes that's CS5, but I could have done the same in Elements.

Olympus 8mm f/1.8 M.Zuiko Digital ED Fisheye PRO Lens

04/16/2011 07:15:56 PM · #5

Here's a softer one:

The only difference is that I left out the soft light layer.

04/16/2011 07:17:09 PM · #6

Here's a screen shot of the RAW converter in CS5, showing where I'd start with the RAW image to get results like that. The key is to go way down on clarity, basically.

04/16/2011 07:30:48 PM · #7

Originally posted by GinaRothfels:

Here's a softer one:

The only difference is that I left out the soft light layer.

I like this one better, thanks.

04/16/2011 07:32:33 PM · #8

Originally posted by Bear_Music:

Here's a screen shot of the RAW converter in CS5, showing where I'd start with the RAW image to get results like that. The key is to go way down on clarity, basically.

R.

Thanks, I will try that. A touch too bright but it has this delicate feeling :)

Olympus 8mm f/1.8 M.Zuiko Digital ED Fisheye PRO Lens

04/16/2011 07:33:29 PM · #9

Originally posted by MargaretN:

Originally posted by GinaRothfels:
Here's a softer one:

The only difference is that I left out the soft light layer.
I like this one better, thanks.

Glad you like it, but mine is the lazy way.

Bear_Music's method gives much more control over the final result.

04/16/2011 08:51:30 PM · #10

Originally posted by MargaretN:

Originally posted by Bear_Music:
Here's a screen shot of the RAW converter in CS5, showing where I'd start with the RAW image to get results like that. The key is to go way down on clarity, basically.

R.
Thanks, I will try that. A touch too bright but it has this delicate feeling :)

Right; the principle is there, it's just a matter of adjusting to your own preferences.

R.

Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM

04/16/2011 09:32:17 PM · #11

Here is my quick version:

Dave

Shanny403

Sony DSLR-A330

Sony DT 1.8/50mm SAM

04/16/2011 10:15:27 PM · #12

I'm not sure if this is what you're looking for or not - and I'm sure that there are many other people on here that know WAY more than I do but I thought I'd give it a go. I put what I did for post in the picture description.

Kelli

Canon EOS-D60

04/16/2011 10:55:59 PM · #13

Ooooh! Are we playing?

04/17/2011 12:45:51 AM · #14

Originally posted by DCNUTTER:

Here is my quick version:

Dave

I think this might be the closest to what I was looking for - how did you do it?

04/17/2011 01:49:47 AM · #15

Originally posted by MargaretN:

Originally posted by DCNUTTER:
Here is my quick version:

Dave
I think this might be the closest to what I was looking for - how did you do it?

You can accomplish *exactly* that in the RAW converter by adjusting a couple of parameters off of the ones I had set... Brightness down to maybe +38 and tweak the temperature just a tad cooler, maybe 6000 instead of 6250... Then just play with the clarity to set the crispness of the edges precisely where you want it, basically.

04/17/2011 01:51:23 AM · #16

Originally posted by MargaretN:

Originally posted by DCNUTTER:
Here is my quick version:

Dave
I think this might be the closest to what I was looking for - how did you do it?

Open your original RAW file in Adobe Camera RAW and apply these settings...

Camera Profile - Portrait (This will give it a softer look to start with and warm the color a little)
White Balance - Auto worked well for this shot
Exposure - Bump up to +.60 (Gives and overall brightness to the photo)
Contrast - Lower to -15 (You're going for less contrast and softness in color etc. So you lower it)
Clarity - Lower to -15 (As Bear mentioned this will also soften the image when you move it to the left)
Vibrance - +10 (Boost the color just a little)
Noise Reduction - I set mine to 67 until I liked the smoothness

Down on the bottom of the Adobe Camera RAW window you must always make sure you bring your photo into the right color space, and at the best bit depth and resolution. You also don't want to much sharpening applied to any photo that you will be further processing, but especially an image you are going for a more diffused and soft look.

So, if you click on the bottom where it looks like a link you'll get the window to enter these settings

Color Space - sRGB (Unless you know you are working in Adobe RGB for instance then set accordingly)
Set it to 16 bits
Set resolution to 300 dpi for best quality. If you intend to eventually print then you are ready with 300 dpi. If you also want to post on the web then in your final save you can drop it down to 72 dpi for screen use.
Sharpening, I normally default mine to sharpen for screen at the standard setting.

When you open the file in Photoshop you will be close to what you want. Here you can add a little more softening with a gaussian blur if you'd like. If you do I suggest doing it on a duplicate layer where you can mask out the center and keep it a little sharper. You can do this a number of ways, but you want to make sure you have some transitioning. So either using a nice large soft brush and hitting the center of the flower with one or two clicks will do nicely. Or you can be a little more technical and use a Gaussian blur layer with a radial gradient to transition the blur. Keep in mind I'm giving you some post processing options. Always make sure that what you are doing is legal under the appropriate challenge editing steps.

You can use a program like Topaz Adjust or Detail to give a little more punch to the in focus petals, but use sparingly.

Hope this helps!

Edited to add: LEAVE ALL THE OTHER SLIDERS AND VALUES ALONE IN ADOBE CAMERA RAW...for this photo.

Dave

Message edited by author 2011-04-17 01:52:25.

04/17/2011 02:06:01 AM · #17

Originally posted by Bear_Music:

Originally posted by MargaretN:

Originally posted by DCNUTTER:
Here is my quick version:

Dave
I think this might be the closest to what I was looking for - how did you do it?

You can accomplish *exactly* that in the RAW converter by adjusting a couple of parameters off of the ones I had set... Brightness down to maybe +38 and tweak the temperature just a tad cooler, maybe 6000 instead of 6250... Then just play with the clarity to set the crispness of the edges precisely where you want it, basically.

Exactly Robert. I was working on my edit before I had seen your post, and when I posted mine I read your post as well. VERY similar in processing, and the appearance of ours is not far off from each other. :)

Dave

04/17/2011 02:09:05 AM · #18

Thanks, Dave. Does Adobe Camera RAW come with CS5? Where do I get it? Is LR3 functionality the same as Camera RAW?

Originally posted by DCNUTTER:

Open your original RAW file in Adobe Camera RAW and apply these settings...

Message edited by author 2011-04-17 02:10:16.

04/17/2011 02:16:59 AM · #19

Originally posted by MargaretN:

Thanks, Dave. Does Adobe Camera RAW come with CS5? Where do I get it? Is LR3 functionality the same as Camera RAW?

Originally posted by DCNUTTER:

Open your original RAW file in Adobe Camera RAW and apply these settings...

Yes, Adobe Camera Raw is bundled with Photoshop as it's RAW editor. You can open Photoshop and drag a .cr2 file onto the work area and ACR will open, or you can use Adobe Bridge as well and launch it into ACR from there. If you have no other program associated with RAW files on your computer than double clicking on it will launch ACR as well.

Yes, the same steps can be done in Lightroom. LR is just a stand alone program that uses the same RAW engine as Adobe Camera RAW. It's fancier and has more bells and whistles such as the photo organizer, better preset handling and more. So yes, if you are comfortable with Lightroom by all means use that instead.

Dave

Message edited by author 2011-04-17 02:18:59.

04/17/2011 02:17:27 AM · #20

Originally posted by Bear_Music:

Thanks, Bear. Your version was very similar. I just need Camera RAW :) (Dave's reply crossed over, I am fine now)

Message edited by author 2011-04-17 02:19:02.

04/17/2011 02:21:55 AM · #21

Originally posted by MargaretN:

Originally posted by Bear_Music:

Originally posted by MargaretN:

Originally posted by DCNUTTER:
Here is my quick version:

Dave
I think this might be the closest to what I was looking for - how did you do it?

You can accomplish *exactly* that in the RAW converter by adjusting a couple of parameters off of the ones I had set... Brightness down to maybe +38 and tweak the temperature just a tad cooler, maybe 6000 instead of 6250... Then just play with the clarity to set the crispness of the edges precisely where you want it, basically.
Thanks, Bear. Your version was very similar. I just need Camera RAW :) (Dave's reply crossed over, I am fine now)

If you run any recent version of Photoshop CS or Lightroom you already HAVE Camera Raw. (As Dave points out, Lightroom is just an overlay on the Camera Raw engine with productivity enhancements, basically; the sliders are all the same.) I think Elements uses ACR also.

Olympus 8mm f/1.8 M.Zuiko Digital ED Fisheye PRO Lens

04/17/2011 06:23:58 AM · #22

Originally posted by Bear_Music:

I think Elements uses ACR also.

Yes it does, but there are lot more editing options available in the version that comes with CS5.

salmiakki

Apple iPhone 16 Pro

Sony Sonnar T* 35mm F2.8 ZA

04/17/2011 07:25:40 AM · #23

Margaret, pretty sure you have as many versions as you need by now, but couldn't resist having a play myself. Preliminary edit in ACR is not really any different than Bear or anybody else has done, but I then ran it through Nik Colour Efex Glamour Glow. Just another version of the same thing :)