how should I emphasize the impact of this pic?

Leica 18-56mm f/3.5-5.6 Vario Elmar-T ASPH

05/30/2009 09:00:13 AM · #1

OK, so 2008 was kinda dull for photos for me, but 2009 had some great shows in the Spanish Dep't at the Uni.

Naturally I took my camera geared and played photographer... I surprised myself by getting some fairly decent shots as low as 1/15 with my 80-200 at full zoom. Hey, I'm actually improving! ;)

I'm trying to get through the hundreds of pics (almost 1/3 done...) before we slide into the final crunch for finals... and before the graduating students head the heck outta here.

It was the final performance of this one girl who did a really great job every time she had a chance to act and I wanted to give her some shots before she left.

This particular shot is at one of the most tragic moments of the play where this young girl has tried to help out people in her low class community in what I believe is a post-depression setting. Her plans to help the community blew up in her face though and the result is that one woman died and another went insane.

Her good intentions have turned her into a pariah and she is heartbroken.

I think the pic shows quite a bit of emotion and there were a few not-so-dry eyes in the house. Because I have seen the play, the pic hits me pretty hard, but I'm not entirely sure how to augment it to best bring that out. My perspective is slanted.

I've already manipulated it a fair bit in bridge and processing it up from RAW, but there's still a fair bit that can be done in PS. There's some camera shake there, so at full res it's not all that sharp. Dangit.

Anyone feel like giving it a stab or giving me some ideas?

Thanks!

Message edited by author 2009-05-30 09:02:58.

MAK

Leica CL

05/30/2009 09:13:31 AM · #2

Although she definitely looks distraught it is going to be so hard to put the 'real' emotion across in a shot especially to people who do not know the story. you can only present the emotion and I think you have done that rather well.

Mark-A

Canon EOS-5D Mark III

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

05/30/2009 09:22:04 AM · #3

Agree with MAK you have definitely done well to capture a great deal of emotion in the shot anyway.

If I were to change anything from a personal perspective I think I would crop some of the left and add some negative space on the right to try and add a feeling of isolation to her emotional state, I would also darken the surroundings slightly... Better described with an example, here's a quick idea of what I mean.

Jedusi

05/30/2009 09:32:38 AM · #4

Well I quite like it in B&W . .

I also like the symbolism of the moment with her back turned to the community, and her facing into the darkness . .

Sony 24-70mm F4 Vario-Tessar T* FE OSS

05/30/2009 09:57:00 AM · #5

Thanks guys.

MAK - I agree.

That is kinda what I was thinking myself. I hadn't thought of moving her to the left and adding space to the right. I like the effect though.

I already darkened the bg as much as possible in the bridge. I'll push it a bit more in PS.

I tried a few different versions in B&W and with low sat, but I actually feel that it kinda flattens the image. In the colored version, I find that she stands out more from the BG. I think I would have to dramatically alter the tone of the BG which might detract from the scene itself. Perhaps some lens blur would work...

I'm going to have to sleep on it.

Good suggestions so far, thanks!

Bear_Music

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

05/30/2009 12:25:51 PM · #6

For me, the crop-left-add-space-right approach doesn't work for this image. I'm aware that it's a truism that you always want "more image" int he direction the subject's looking, but that's for a conventional, non-disturbing image. Here, we are dealing with grief, and if we crop it tight right we emphasize that, IMO. For the rest of it, I masked out the figure and applied heavy gradients on 3 edges. A touch of Topaz Detailed as well.

tnun

Ricoh GR III

Pentax DA 18-135mm F3.5-5.6ED AL [IF] WR DC

05/30/2009 03:37:18 PM · #7

Originally posted by Jedusi:

Well I quite like it in B&W . .

I also like the symbolism of the moment with her back turned to the community, and her facing into the darkness . .

I like this the best, I think because it shows the relentlessness of the light falling onto her moment of excruciating self recrimination. Bear's version is just a tad too pretty.

Great expression! And story.

kingskingdom

Hasselblad Hasselblad H3D

Hasselblad HC 3.5-4.5/50-110 mm

05/30/2009 07:46:35 PM · #8

A slightly different crop with some old style grain and soft focus works for me. What do you think?

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II

05/30/2009 10:09:50 PM · #9

Wow. Lot's to learn from this one. Thanks.

Three primary crop styles. Her on the right, her in the middle and her on the left. hmmmmmm.

I like Jedusi's crop that puts here on the right because it accentuates her leaning over the railing.
I like Bear's crop because it accentuates her presence. (and the use of gradients instead of just darkening the background is effective for creating depth and isolating her)
I like KingsKingdom's crop because it emphasizes her despair and almost dragging her back into the scene.

I'll post another couple of challenging shots later today - my computer is still working on a batch and I have to go into the city. If you are interested, you can have some fun with them.

In your opinion, what should I do with the sharpness issue? Should I leave it alone? Should I increase the contrast? Should I enhance the lack of sharpness by using special filters in some way?

BTW, red is a special color in the play for this character and her role. She takes a dress of the color red, the same as the package through which she attempts to help her friends - but becomes an agent of death and tragedy. If I choose a desat, I will almost definitely choose to leave the red of her dress. She changes costume as her role completes the change from helper to harbinger.

Message edited by author 2009-05-30 22:10:50.

aliqui

Nikon D300s

05/30/2009 11:12:07 PM · #10

At first I had the shot open and was mocking hockey announcers on the tv at the time by drawing circles and arrows all over the shot... then I got down to business...

I went with the letterbox crop appearance and chopped a bit off the left side. As for processing, I used Topaz to bring out the textures in her face. As a bonus it seems to have brought out her hands grasping the rail. After, I used Topaz Denoise to soften the whole shot. I also boosted the red of the dress and her eyeshadow after reading your latest post.

As for sharpening, I just used the selective sharpening tool and sharpened her face and hands.

05/31/2009 10:33:45 AM · #11

interesting.

I actually toned her hands down a bit with a bit of vignetting to bring out her face.

I think you may have a point with the softening. I don't think I'll go as strong with that as you in the end though.

The letterbox looks interesting

Sony 24-70mm F4 Vario-Tessar T* FE OSS

06/01/2009 11:51:52 AM · #12

Okie, I think I like this.

I added a bit of black to the left, shifting her to the right a bit and applied a stronger shadow.

Obviously this is largely what Bear suggested, but I did actually run through some of the other options.

Thanks.

Here's another one I had fun with. Feel free to give me your thoughts:

became

I liked playing with the selective desat with yellows. This shot was one of those 'poked between heads' after the show, but I really like the way the motion blur actually gives it a bit of energy and tried to emphasize shapes rather than sharpness. One of my favorites of the bunch. I was actually happy with this from bridge, without doing a thing in PS.

Another one I liked but wasn't so confident about:

-> rethought

Is it better?
The woman has just been informed of the bad news that is about to lead to her death (not stellar acting, but she definitely tried). I deliberately left the uncomfortable edge on the bottom to push the lines a bit off, but I'm not sure if that is a wise choice. I am burning the shoot up tonight. The rest of the editing I think is fine.

Feel free to criticize or let me know what doesn't work. I've been pretty inactive with photography for the past year, so I'm pretty rusty - and I was never all that good to begin with ;).

Last one:
I originally thought this was a throw-away. Thank goodness for RAW! Now it barely scrapes by!

Message edited by author 2009-06-01 12:28:16.

Bear_Music

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

06/01/2009 11:59:50 AM · #13

Originally posted by eschelar:

To paraphrase Robert Frost:

Breathes there a Bear who isn't moved
when he finds his 'shopping's understood
and not entirely disapproved
by his country and his neighborhood?

Nice work :-)

R.

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

06/01/2009 12:29:24 PM · #14

Thanksh mang!

Dirt_Diver

Nikon D3s

06/01/2009 02:47:15 PM · #15

Mine isn't as good as Art's creations but the only thing I could come up with was this...

Removed by request

Message edited by author 2009-06-01 22:15:09.

Bear_Music

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

Sony 24-70mm F4 Vario-Tessar T* FE OSS

06/01/2009 04:04:57 PM · #16

Originally posted by Dirt_Diver:

Mine isn't as good as Art's creations but the only thing I could come up with was this...

Sorta gives a new perspective on your name, doesn't it?

R.

Message edited by author 2009-06-01 22:22:38.