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Help! cant get this to look right


Murse

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alright fellas, i did a shoot his morning for some family friends of mine, but i cant get this to look right. i cant pinpoint it but something doesnt seem right. she wanted just the bow on the wreath to be in color, which i did but any additional help would be greatly appreciated.

 

one thing i forgot was my grey card so i was using auto white balance. i also had a gold reflector. if that helps with editing!!!

oh and i couldnt find my 200mm so i was using my 24-105mm.

 

ive got the RAW and PSD file i can email if someone has a second to help!

 

heres what ive got so far (just remember this is converted to jpg so quality isnt the best)

 

http://i41.tinypic.com/nrvxi.jpg

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Part of the reason it's not looking right here is that you need to convert your image to sRGB for web display. You have this one displayed using Adobe RGB (1998) and it's going to look muted.

 

You'll get in debates rivaling the Ford Chevy when it comes to discussing color space, but I stand by the fact that unless you are printing at home in a controlled environment or using a lab that will use your color profile then use sRGB as your color space. Also if you don't have a calibrated printer, to match your monitor, shoot in sRGB.

 

Happy to help. PM me the RAW. I'll also adjust the sky that appears clipped and the blacks that are ever so slightly clipped. FWIW, while I love Canon bodies and how they capture colors, reds are their weak point if you must point out one.

 

Happy to help. PM me the RAW. timothylauro@yahoo.com

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Joshua, first off, great shot. I really like it. The expression on the dads face is great too. Wholesome and proud. I like it.

 

The image overall didn't need a whole lot and honestly there are so many variables involved in adjusting such an image you'll get a number of different opinions. 98% of people out there have monitors running a standard profile thus colors will never be perfect for them. Reds are very subjective too. I think in the version you were working on, what you were seeing in the reds was the impact of the Gold Reflector. I normally use silver only and warm up my images with white balance adjustments. The only technical point I would suggest is to download the DOF guide to your phone. I use mine all the time.

 

Full frame MKII's will quickly show you how shallow f/4 is on a full frame, thus why mom is sharp and father and son are slightly blurred. You were at 35mm. Next time step back and shoot them at 70-100mm range. That will isolate them allowing for a really nice bokeh, compensate for the f/4 limitation of your lens and give you the depth of focus to get them all tack sharp. The subjects will really pop and the background will fade.

 

Examples from a 1.3 crop factor (not quite full frame even)

Here's one shot at 100mm http://www.pbase.com/timothylauro/image/130320812/original

Here's one shot at 200mm http://www.pbase.com/timothylauro/image/128685207/original

 

Here's what I did with your shot:

 

  • Horizon Adjusted to straight
  • Exposure in sky no longer clipped and Shadows Adjusted the same
  • Color balance corrected
  • Several Distracting background features removed
  • Full size image shows minor skin tone adjustments
  • Full size image will show catch-lights added and removal of gold reflector

Let me know your thoughts and if there are any other adjustments you would like. If it's not at all what you're looking for, tell me that too :p

 

I'll email you back the full size version next with a secret tip on portraits too.

 

 

http://www.pbase.com/timothylauro/image/140322264/original.jpg

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Yah, its a bit over red.. but i wanted feedback of the black and white part before playing with anything else.. I use Lightroom, now instaed of photoshop, so i am learning how to do things in there

 

That picture is nice enough that i wouldnt do the select color personaly, but if thats what the customer asked for, not much you can do..

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So others can see this great image in color. Edits mentioned above applied here. I agree with Trish in that I much prefer the full color image. However, for a Christmas card or something, the selective color would work.

 

 

http://www.pbase.com/timothylauro/image/140324039/original.jpg

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trish i love both of yours, expecially this last one! but for the client the first had too much contrast. if it was for me i would have gone with either of them. my client is using them for christmas cards and so just a simple b/w with the red bow that had some detail is what she wanted.

 

i really appreciate both of your help with this. along with the tips and additional ideas.

 

Josh

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I like the black and white in the one Trish did do to the increased contrast. What I'd probably do is a graduated filter coming down from the top through the people and trying to avoid the grass, It ends up a little over done in this shot.
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