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candy lips
1st Placecandy lips
Nald


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Candy II (Advanced Editing V)
Camera: Nikon D200
Lens: Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D
Location: Home
Date: Sep 9, 2007
Aperture: f/2.8
ISO: 100
Shutter: 1/160
Galleries: Black and White
Date Uploaded: Sep 9, 2007

**Post Challenge** WOW, A BLUE! Thanks everyone for all the great comments.

**Shooting / Editing steps**

The shot is of my wife, Cammie, in our kitchen with fluorescent lighting, my SB 600 fired straight up at the ceiling using a GF Lightsphere system. The shot was taken at 8:16 PM MST and by the time I got it off my camera and two gallons of laundry detergent cleaned up in our laundry room that spilled I didn’t have much time to edit the shot and get it entered into the challenge.

I downloaded the image off of my camera using Adobe Lightroom 1.1 and adjusted the following before importing it into Photoshop CS3 as a tiff:

Exposure +1.55
Fill Light +8
Highlight Recovery +7
Vibrance +22
Saturation +13

In Photoshop I performed the following steps to create my entry:

Cropped

Opened curves and sampled my darks and lights using the color sampler, from there I applied the following settings in curves:

60/80 on the low end and 186/186 on the high end

Merged visible and then cloned out, and used the Healing Brush to clean up skin imperfections and some stray hairs in the upper right of the image.

I used the magnetic lasso tool (feathered) to carefully trace around the lips; once this was done I right clicked on the selection and used Select Inverse to select everything but the lips, mouth, tongue, etc...

I then applied a Black & White filter to get the high key skin; this was set to Red Filter with the following settings:

Reds: 120
Yellows: 110
Greens: -10
Cyans: -50
Blues: 0
Magentas: 120

I then went about softening the skin by selectively using Gaussian Blur on the face and adjusting the opacity of the levels until I got it where I wanted it.

I then cleaned up around the lips by cloning out small distractions left over from the selective de-saturation.
I flattened the image and then resized it, then applied Smart Sharpen with the following settings:

Basic
Amount 120%
Radius: 0.5
Remove Gaussian Blur
More Accurate was checked

I then saved for web and scarcely made it into the challenge.


Statistics
Place: 1 out of 141
Avg (all users): 6.9942
Avg (commenters): 7.7391
Avg (participants): 6.6349
Avg (non-participants): 7.2018
Views since voting: 15369
Views during voting: 453
Votes: 172
Comments: 60
Favorites: 25 (view)


Please log in or register to add your comments!

AuthorThread
09/22/2007 07:31:12 AM
well deserved, great setup and execution :-)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/20/2007 05:51:40 PM
Looks like a fun photo to do...congratulations on winning the blue ribbon!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/20/2007 09:17:52 AM
I love the shot- but I almost need to see EYE if you are going to leave the wrinkly spot under the eye. Perhaps a sunglass frame, or a sunglass frame pulled down would work too. Who am I to say though... its a great shot!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/20/2007 03:29:53 AM
I too would like to weigh in. Your photo is stunning. I especially like the way you framed it. In so far as eyes are so mesmerizing, it is brilliant that you framed it in a way to draw attention to the lips exclusively. The lips did not have to compete with your model's eyes. Doing so would not have resulted in such a a strong impact.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/19/2007 07:54:21 AM
Congrats on a ribbon, had a feeling I would be seeing a "candy stuck on lips" photo in one of the top three spots, it´s very well done.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/17/2007 10:51:49 PM
All of these comments are AMAZING, thank you everyone for taking the time to leave your thoughts it is much appreciated!

You guys ROCK!

Nald
09/17/2007 09:54:39 PM
Very Nice Image and very helpful info about your PP Congrats on the Blue!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/17/2007 05:28:22 PM
Congratulations, excellent shot, the moment I saw this image I knew it it's winner.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/17/2007 05:10:54 PM
Congratulations on your finish with such a stunning image.

Danny
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/17/2007 04:32:19 PM
congratulations steve on your well deserved ribbon
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/17/2007 01:56:19 PM
Absolutely superb job on the image and double kudos for your thoughtful and thorough photographer's note!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/17/2007 01:46:46 PM
Congrats on the ribbon! This shot is fantastic!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/17/2007 12:51:15 PM
I don't really like this type of shot...but this one I love! You have managed to break a bunch of "rules" and land on your feet. Great job! And congrats on the blue. Well deserved!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/17/2007 11:36:56 AM
Congrats on you first blue! Great idea and well executed!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/17/2007 11:04:07 AM
I knew this would take the top. I just love it. well done!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/17/2007 10:50:26 AM
cool image. congrats on your win.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/17/2007 10:04:24 AM
Great job on the Utah ribbon! :) This is a wonderful image.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/17/2007 09:59:04 AM
Hey, GREAT JOB!!! This is so clever and creative! Beautifully executed and an excellent choice for a blue ribbon! Congratulations!

  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/17/2007 09:41:39 AM
Woohoo! nice job! this was my fav!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/17/2007 09:19:03 AM
Pop Rocks ?
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/17/2007 09:07:47 AM
this is an amazing and well deserving shot. great job!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/17/2007 08:28:57 AM
Wooooooohoooooooooo! Congrats on the blue Steve!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/17/2007 07:12:31 AM
Congrats on the blue!! This shot definately deserves it!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/17/2007 06:23:34 AM
Congrats on the blue! Excellent image - very professional feel.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/17/2007 04:51:39 AM
well done/congrats...great shot.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/17/2007 03:56:46 AM
congrats dude, long overdue blue
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/17/2007 02:03:22 AM
Way to go! I knew the sugar lips would make it to the top. Cpmgrats!!!!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/17/2007 12:45:20 AM
I knew this was the winner as soon as I saw it during voting. Great image and perfect for the challenge. Big congratulations on your Blue Ribbon, Steve.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/17/2007 12:45:03 AM
congratulations!!!! Way to go, Steve!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/17/2007 12:43:34 AM
New name and a blue ribbon to boot. Nice execution and amazing post processing. It would take me a year to figure all that out. I agree with Levyj413's comment on how it looks like the work of Rudy. A huge compliment indeed.

Well done.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/17/2007 12:39:52 AM
Great image and thought for this challenge, congratulations.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/17/2007 12:13:11 AM
Congrats! Great idea, great execution, great editing. You had me fooled - thinking you were Qart is definitely meant as a compliment. :)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/17/2007 12:12:21 AM
a very worthy ribbon winner! congrats on this perfectly executed, very professional-looking shot
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/17/2007 12:11:06 AM
Very nice! Good to see another Utah image bring home a ribbon ... and a blue one at that! :-)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/17/2007 12:10:18 AM
Way to go Steve!!!!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/17/2007 12:02:09 AM
Dude!!!!! How awesome are you?! Total congratulations on your Blue! Woo Hoo! I didn't get to see this challenge but I'm so glad to see you on the front page.

This is fantastic! :-)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
09/16/2007 05:36:19 AM
just nooooot doing it for meeeeee...... sooooorrrryyy
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/16/2007 05:08:56 AM
WOW! :) 9
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/15/2007 09:47:02 PM
Qart? Nice either way!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/15/2007 08:49:30 PM
Nicely done.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/15/2007 02:09:57 AM
I adore the idea but I find the masking to be too harsh.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/14/2007 06:04:46 PM
Really Beautiful! 10
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/14/2007 12:11:58 PM
This is the best of the whole group. I hope it ribbons. Love the selective desat and the sharpness of the mouth. Good luck!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/13/2007 09:19:11 PM
very appealing use of desaturation. nice and crisp
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/12/2007 11:39:20 PM
WOW WOW WOW.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/12/2007 11:06:51 AM
You just appealed to my two biggest drives! :-) I love this shot, it's going on my faves. It is excellent in every way.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/11/2007 03:12:47 PM
Green lips? How about green with envy. Wonderful desat and I love the sharpness of the candy crystals and mouth compared with the softness of the face. Oustanding
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/11/2007 11:01:01 AM
Love it! Love it! Love it! 10
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/10/2007 07:57:56 PM
best in show so far. very well done.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/10/2007 06:40:55 PM
One of my favorites. Gets the sweet tooth howlin'. Nice desat
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/10/2007 06:22:13 PM
great image..if i could vote it would be 10/10
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/10/2007 03:03:31 PM
saw similar in the Selective Desat challenge, but this is really good!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/10/2007 07:51:49 AM
Excellent!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/10/2007 07:46:51 AM
the partial desat wasn't neccesary imho. or not to complete grey anyway. I like the focus on the sugarlips. nicely done.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/10/2007 06:51:10 AM
very well done - the selective desat works very well here - the greys are so nice and rich and the green sugar is a great complement to the pinks of the mouth and tongue...
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/10/2007 02:29:14 AM
Interesting idea...seems like I've seen this one done before, but this is nice nonetheless! Lovely lighting.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/10/2007 02:13:38 AM
Great image! I foresee the front page for this one!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/10/2007 01:09:53 AM
Beautifully done!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/10/2007 12:59:41 AM
Lovely photo, very seductive and sweet at the same time :)

-dave
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/10/2007 12:13:58 AM
pretty neat idea
  Photographer found comment helpful.


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