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05/01/2014 04:27:59 PM · #1
Could you please look at this picture and tell me what you think. My Son-in-Law has chosen it for my Daughters Mother's Day gift. Originally it was in color and my daughter wants to start a yearly photo of my grandson in B&W. So the color option is out...I'm just showing you for comparison.

I'm having problems with his little jacket - it's red...I hate converting reds!!! Plus I'd just like to have your opinion(s) on it. It will get cropped later but this is what I started out with...



B&W



Thanks for your help...I just really want this to look right...not flat in tones and oversharpened...

Message edited by author 2014-05-01 17:00:54.
05/01/2014 05:00:17 PM · #2
In general, I think you've gone too dark with the image. It's also pretty obvious in your B/W version that you really fought those reds. You've lost a lot of detail in his sweater. If it were me, I would go with a much lighter, less contrasty approach. Is there a reason you're wanting to go with the B/W? When I compare the B/W to the colored (even with mine), I'd go with the colored version. He's just so darn cheery in that bright red!

05/01/2014 05:06:14 PM · #3
Originally posted by aliqui:

In general, I think you've gone too dark with the image. It's also pretty obvious in your B/W version that you really fought those reds. You've lost a lot of detail in his sweater. If it were me, I would go with a much lighter, less contrasty approach. Is there a reason you're wanting to go with the B/W? When I compare the B/W to the colored (even with mine), I'd go with the colored version. He's just so darn cheery in that bright red!



totally agree with you but it's for my daughter's mother's day gift and she want to start a "collection" of canvas prints of Nolan in B&W....

I had thought this was a better choice in B&W but my son-in-law picked the one with the red shirt....



Message edited by author 2014-05-01 17:06:36.
05/01/2014 05:20:56 PM · #4
OK, I am Red-Green color-blind and I think the red version is great/better ... personally I'd bring a little more Yellow into the grass in the foreground, but over all I'd go with the color version, especially for a holiday card where a little excess is good ... the (hyper-)saturated surroundings contrast well with the more naturalistic skin tones on the face and help focus attention there, where it should be.

I would crop from the left (to where his leg exits the frame) into a square:

05/01/2014 05:26:08 PM · #5
Originally posted by Ja-9:

I had thought this was a better choice in B&W but my son-in-law picked the one with the red shirt....



I totally agree! This has a lot more story to tell. Darn clients never listen to reason! :)
05/01/2014 05:26:24 PM · #6
yeah, the texture of his jacket didn't take the conversion well. maybe use a high structure b&w filter? the picture does look quite dark to me like michelle said.
05/01/2014 05:33:23 PM · #7
I'm really not sure why you should be having that much trouble: here's a DEFAULT conversion with SEP2, no sliders adjusted at all. And you can noodle around with the color mapping to fine-tune the reds in relation to everything else... So it's clearly possible to have "red" graytones that are not blocked up on this particular image.

05/01/2014 05:35:58 PM · #8
What I think Bear is trying to say is that he wants that sweater.
05/01/2014 06:49:59 PM · #9
turn the sharpening down! that looks to be causing issues with the conversion too.
05/02/2014 11:11:31 AM · #10
I guess I'm the last of a dying breed -- I do my b&w conversions in Photoshop CC. I had to google to figure out what SEP2 is.

Personally, I like the color version best, but given that Mom wants b&w, that's what we need to do. If you convert in Photoshop CC using the b&w adjustment layer, use the red slider and you can lighten the red hoodie up just fine. I then apply a gradient map adjustment in b&w to get the blacks black and the whites white.

05/02/2014 12:53:11 PM · #11
It's just one of those pictures that becomes "frustrating" to fix...You try all kinds of stuff to fix it and it just keeps getting more "muddled"
05/02/2014 01:00:54 PM · #12
Try walking away for a day and then going back to the original image and starting all over again. Don't look at what you've done before. Start out again from scratch. Good luck. 8)
05/02/2014 01:12:27 PM · #13
Can I play with an original? No gun-point here, you can say no if you'd like.

If you let me play with the original, I promise to give it more contrast than the one I posted initially. Any other requests will also be honored. I can post all editing steps in the comments. I have them for the first one I posted too if you want them.

If she's going to make a collection of these (on canvas no less...), you really want to make sure you're happy with it. You don't want to say, "Gah, damn B/W!" every time you see the photo in the house.

The biggest issues I see are that it's too dark and the reds are blown out in the conversion. Controlling just the reds is going to be very important in your processing. There's lots of ways of doing it; red channel, hue/saturation with red selected, select color with red selected, B/W conversion red slider, etc.
05/02/2014 01:12:48 PM · #14
Originally posted by Germaine:

Try walking away for a day and then going back to the original image and starting all over again. Don't look at what you've done before. Start out again from scratch. Good luck. 8)


That's good advice.
05/02/2014 07:09:51 PM · #15
Originally posted by aliqui:

Can I play with an original? No gun-point here, you can say no if you'd like.

If you let me play with the original, I promise to give it more contrast than the one I posted initially. Any other requests will also be honored. I can post all editing steps in the comments. I have them for the first one I posted too if you want them.

If she's going to make a collection of these (on canvas no less...), you really want to make sure you're happy with it. You don't want to say, "Gah, damn B/W!" every time you see the photo in the house.

The biggest issues I see are that it's too dark and the reds are blown out in the conversion. Controlling just the reds is going to be very important in your processing. There's lots of ways of doing it; red channel, hue/saturation with red selected, select color with red selected, B/W conversion red slider, etc.


Happy to send it your way...if you want the NEF file I'll have to send via dropbox...your e-mail?

or I can just post a JPEG of it...your choice

Message edited by author 2014-05-02 19:10:11.
05/02/2014 08:43:14 PM · #16
Originally posted by Ja-9:

Happy to send it your way...if you want the NEF file I'll have to send via dropbox...your e-mail?

or I can just post a JPEG of it...your choice


Private message sent. :)
05/02/2014 10:30:57 PM · #17
Originally posted by aliqui:

Originally posted by Ja-9:

Happy to send it your way...if you want the NEF file I'll have to send via dropbox...your e-mail?

or I can just post a JPEG of it...your choice


Private message sent. :)


just sent it on it's merry little way...
05/06/2014 11:51:26 AM · #18
Eh, I don't think I did much better. I've uploaded a full-size version to my workshop just in case you like it and don't feel like trying to duplicate the results. The steps are in the comments.

05/06/2014 12:28:14 PM · #19
Originally posted by aliqui:

Eh, I don't think I did much better. I've uploaded a full-size version to my workshop just in case you like it and don't feel like trying to duplicate the results. The steps are in the comments.



Thanks Michelle, I like the brightness of the face and jacket better...do you use PsCC? (or some version there to?). About the only other thing I see different is the sharpening in the face...I used Shake Reduction in PsCC and High Pass Filter...but as Mike said...I did a bit to much...(thanks Mike)

Thanks again...

Janine
05/06/2014 01:01:17 PM · #20
Originally posted by Ja-9:

. . . do you use PsCC? (or some version there to?). . .


Photoshop CS5
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