Singing For Tips [Archive] - Digital Photography School

shawngrimes

03-18-2008, 12:29 AM

I'm working on a project this Spring/Summer to exhibit street performers in my photography. I went out this past weekend to get some practice and shots in and I took a picture of the fellow below. I'd like some feedback on the picture.

I did some basic contrast adjustments and then went at with the dodge and burn tools. I really like some of the work that Dave Hill (http://www.davehillphoto.com/) and Joey Lawrence (http://joeyl.com), so that's where some of my influence is coming from (but sometimes they can go overboard).

Does my treatment look good or is too much/too little? Is there something else that could be done to make the man stand out from the background a little more and take obvious focus? Do you think that a treatment like this detracts from the subject and takes away from the fact that this man is trying to earn some money with a busted guitar and his only good suit? Does obvious post processing belittle him in some way? I appreciate your feedback. The original photo can be found here (http://www.flickr.com/photos/shawngrimes/2341960980/).

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/shawngrimes/2341957392/" title="Singing For Tips by ShawnGrimes, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3027/2341957392_9304523a1b.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt="Singing For Tips" /></a>

Exif:
Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/2000)
Aperture: f/1.8
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO Speed: 400

onesaint

03-18-2008, 01:04 AM

what kind of metering where you using? Imho, it seems his face is blending with the background a bit too much. I like the clothing and the post. Nice work.

shawngrimes

03-18-2008, 01:09 AM

I just did scene metering as I wasn't fully prepared to catch this guy here and didn't take the time to get everything right. If I was more prepared, I would have put a flash behind him to help separate him from the background even more. But I'll see what I can bring the head out a little more.

Tiberius

03-18-2008, 01:04 PM

It looks too processed. Subtlety is key.

The best edit in a photo is the one that nobody realises is there.

onesaint

03-18-2008, 05:46 PM

It looks too processed. Subtlety is key.

The best edit in a photo is the one that nobody realises is there.

isn't thte point of the photo to look slightly saturated?

peeperita

03-20-2008, 12:41 AM

onesaint

03-20-2008, 01:44 AM

slightly saturated is good in my book, but this image is a little heavy handed on the post work......especially when it comes to the contrast.....i think some of the details got lost in the shuffle.....

good work, shawn...

peeper

WHOA! i thought the point he was going for was to look way over contrasted. but in looking at his references, that isn't the case. the reference photos are just kind of saturated.

unless that over contrasted look is what your going for (and then it needs some toning down) i am in agreement with the others. can you post the original shot?

shawngrimes

03-20-2008, 03:13 AM

southernbelle

03-20-2008, 06:01 AM

The people you referenced have very processed photos on their sites. If you are going for that same look then I think that you did a good job :)

onesaint

03-20-2008, 06:12 AM

I'm really appreciating the feedback. Here is the original:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/shawngrimes/2341960980/" title="Singing For Tips - Original by ShawnGrimes, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2183/2341960980_a9d327b66a.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt="Singing For Tips - Original" /></a>

I think that I could tone down the contrast, increase the details in the darkened ares and still achieve the saturated look. I'll give it a try.

so this is just a quick edit in PS. i opened it in the raw editor, warmed it up a bit, made the exposure a little brighter, then recovered a bit. i then increased the lights and the darks. once opened in PS, i made a quick mask of the dark area (his coat, face, and hat). then i changed the levels to make only that pare a bit brighter. the color in this is a bit off as im having issues with colorspace and my applications right now. but i think you'll get the idea.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/22687283@N00/2347169352/" title="2341960980_a9d327b66a copy by onesaint88, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3064/2347169352_b2ff61a77f_o.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt="2341960980_a9d327b66a copy" /></a>

forever fallen

03-20-2008, 06:59 AM

Hi Shawn,
I agree with onesaint that his head doesn't stand out from the background
quite enough. But I think you're definitely on the right track in achieving the look you're after (per your reference links).

xxpinballxx

03-20-2008, 08:35 PM

Shawn I gotta say if you are going for the look of Dave Hill you need to look more processed, I agree with Tibirius on some shots but if thats the look you want you'll need some tine mapping. i took a quick stab at it hope you dont mind.....
http://xxpinballxx.zoints.com/image/77951-jazzcopy
Its a bit under saturated but thats an easy bump.....I did this with an app thats free and easy to use with a bit of play.....Qtpfsgui.
Weird name for it but works great on some images and is a bit hard to get use to.

shawngrimes

03-21-2008, 05:15 AM

pinball, I LOVE what you've done. I'll be looking into that program now. Thanks so much!

onesaint

03-21-2008, 05:56 AM

pinball, I LOVE what you've done. I'll be looking into that program now. Thanks so much!

im glad you found what you were looking for.

in comparison to your reference photographers, a good amount of attention needs to be paid to not fading out the color.

between your original edit, shawn and pinball's rendition, the colors are much more bold in yours. in trying to make the subject stand out, careful not to make them fade away (brightening the subject too much). just my thoughts on this mind you.