Advice on portrait of big photog ; want to impress

Olympus 14-45mm f/3.5-5.6 Zuiko Digital ED

08/08/2006 10:52:50 AM · #1

so, here's the start of my portrait of sherman hines. (see this thread for more info on this)

my question is - how would you proceed with this? i've done a layer of mild noise ninja, high passed the eyes and shirt, multiplied the shirt, white background and the mauve back slightly.

now what? should i crop? desaturate the red back? needless to say, i want this looking damned good...

any and all advice welcomed!

Fromac

Nikon D7000

08/08/2006 10:56:54 AM · #2

I have very little experience with post-processing, but from a compositional standpoint, I'd crop a little of the loose frame off the top.

A little more contrast might help, too.

It looks really good so far. Good luck with it.

OdysseyF22

Panasonic DC-G9

Olympus 12-45mm f/4.0 Pro

08/08/2006 11:01:14 AM · #3

Too much dead space at the top. Crop tight! A slight curves adjustment to brighten it may help some, and a touch more contrast wouldn't hurt.

Instead of just using the contrast slider, first try using the selective color and adding Black - the bottom slider that adds black to the black. Usually 5 points is a good place to start, but you may need to decrease it. Eyeball how much you need. I find that adding black this way helps the contrast, and makes almost all digital pictures "pop" more - it's a trick taught to me by a long-time photojournalist.

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

08/08/2006 11:02:10 AM · #4

I would go this direction. I cropped to improve the composition, then used the burn tool on the left side to increase the look of directional light.

Neil

Fujifilm X-T30

08/08/2006 11:04:09 AM · #5

The top should be cropped, tight but perhaps not as tight as Cindi's suggestion, and I'd try burning the background a bit to make him stand out. I like Cindi's right left crop!

kano

Canon EOS-40D

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

08/08/2006 11:09:21 AM · #6

a really good relaxed looking portrait

i really like the enhancements made by idnic

xianart: sorry slightly off your subject, but could you perhaps briefly explain for a pp noob like myself what this means "high passed the eyes and shirt, multiplied the shirt,... " ; it sounds great, am intrigued :) ta!

nova

Canon EOS-6D

Canon EF 35mm f/1.4L USM

08/08/2006 11:12:58 AM · #7

xianart, That's the neatest story! I just bet you can't believe all that has happened.

Originally posted by idnic:

Good job, I like it. Do you think it would be possible to ever so subtly enhance the catchlights?

Beetle

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

08/08/2006 11:13:26 AM · #8

Christian, nice portrait! It sounds like he thinks highly of you and your work.
Congratulations and good luck - he might kickstart your network big time.

08/08/2006 11:31:46 AM · #9

yes, i like cinci's and i agre, possibly not so tight.

ok, kano, this is what i've started doing of late. i'm still learning photoshop, but i've figured out a few things.

i've been unhappy with burning in colour images, as it just seems to use black as the shade, so i discovered using a new multiply layer with a layer mask. you make a copy of hte background, choose 'multiply' from the blending options menu (displayed when you double click on the layer icon), the do a layer mask (little grey rectangle with white circle at bottom of layer bax). you can then use black or white paint to paint out areas of the image you want affected by the new layer. there are lots of tutorials on the learning thread about this.

high pass does - i'm not sure, but i like it. i've stopped usm for the most part, and just use hp with a layer mask. it seems to sharpen edges nicely, but can be a bit harsh on wrinkles etc. i usually high pass the eyes, then do a layer of screen as well to bring the highlights up. that means - a layer with just the eyes showing that's been HPed, and the same with screen.

if this makes no sense at all, welcome to the wonderful world of photoshop! keep on playing with it, i think i've learned aoubt .01% so far....

08/08/2006 11:35:18 AM · #10

Here is a go at enhancing the catchlights. Since he is outdoors there is no strong single catchlight already present, so I used dodge to enhance one area of reflection in each eye. Not sure I would bother the catchlights at all if it were mine.

08/08/2006 11:39:33 AM · #11

how's this?

08/08/2006 11:40:21 AM · #12

Much better! :)

08/08/2006 11:40:55 AM · #13

or, should i go for b&w, and get rid of the liver spots on his head?

08/08/2006 11:44:06 AM · #14

Originally posted by xianart:

or, should i go for b&w, and get rid of the liver spots on his head?

Careful what you clone out. Some people are offended if you remove things that they're used to seeing (moles, birthmarks, etc.). B&W would definitely give you a more timeless look.

nova

Canon EOS-6D

Canon EF 35mm f/1.4L USM

08/08/2006 11:45:14 AM · #15

I note in the link to his work that he does favor b/w for most of his portraits.

08/08/2006 11:46:24 AM · #16

Something like this? :)

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

08/08/2006 11:46:38 AM · #17

this is a cheap and cheerful quickie b/w conversion. i wouldn't clonoe out the spots, but b/w does diminish their dominance.

Sunniee

Canon EOS-40D

08/08/2006 11:46:49 AM · #18

ok, forgot to check proof colors in ps2... looks different here...
taking it off b/c it doesnt look like what I intended...

Message edited by author 2006-08-08 12:46:54.

kano

Canon EOS-40D

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

08/08/2006 11:53:47 AM · #19

hey thanks for that :)

gl with your portrait of sherman hines, i think it's super. both the colour and b/w versions are great

looking forward to hearing the man himself view when he see's it ... :)

edit for typo

Message edited by author 2006-08-08 11:55:41.

08/08/2006 12:09:19 PM · #20

how's this?

08/08/2006 12:18:52 PM · #21

Originally posted by xianart:

how's this?

I think you need to bump contrast a bit more and add just a touch of sharpening