photo lacks luster

[hh28360]

hi this is the photograph of my son. I used a 50MM lens with an apperture of 1.8. did some post production work in photoshop. but the image lacks lustre i think. Appreciate comments and tips to improve it further - do you think there is a need to sharpen the image? if yes pls. let me know how to achieve this in photoshop

[RexK_Cozumel]

It looks like you used a on camera flash pointed straight at him. This gives the image a very artificial light and makes his skin tones a little bluish. I would try adding a warming filter on photoshop to give his skin tones a more natural look. also clone out the arm of the person holding him. (at least I think it is an arm. that bit of black left of his ear) If you are going to reshoot or just for future shots in general try bouncing the flash off a reflector or using a diffuser if you have not other choice. Also be more aware of your background when you are shooting try to eliminate anything that can serve as a distraction from your subject.

[hh28360]

Thansk - you are absolutely rite - I did use an on camera flash directly pointed at him - I will try the warm filter

And yes it is an arm. i will clone it out

to be honest I always struggle with the falsh light - daylight always works for me much better

[wulf]

Try a slighly smaller aperture (larger number). Being wide open at f/1.8 is well and good for throwing the background out of focus but gives you a minimal depth of field, especially close to the subject. Even if you had caught the eyes, you might have had the nose still blurred!

Good composition though (especially the pensive finger in the mouth and the large amount of "negative space" to the right) - worth retaking.

Wulf

[hh28360]

thanks Wulf - I have conciously tried to keep the subject to the left of the frame - you mention "negative space" is that good or bad - appreciate a little explanation - thanks

[wulf]

Originally Posted by hh28360

thanks Wulf - I have conciously tried to keep the subject to the left of the frame - you mention "negative space" is that good or bad - appreciate a little explanation - thanks

Negative space? It means empty space in the picture without much going on. If you have a deeply blurred area (the result of choosing a wide aperture), with no detail apparent, this is negative space.

The contrast is a picture where there is no empty space. Unless the subject is clearly dominant, the result can be that you are left unsure about what to focus on.

That is why negative space can be such an, er, positive thing!

Wulf

[jiminyClickit]

hh28360, Welcome

The background of your photo takes away some of the light in your son's countenance. A simple separation of these two into layers will allow you to blur/darken b/g separately. Then a little sharpening, contrast, saturation, balance of red and yellow will bring some more life into the skintones.

[hh28360]

jiminyClickit, Thanks very much - the image looks much better now - one question though - I have been struggling with making accurate selections to be able to separate the background from the main image. What were the photoshop tools you used to make such an accurate selction? A little education on separating the bkground and main image into two layers will be greatly appreciated
thanks

[RexK_Cozumel]

I think the cleanest way to do it is the use a layer mask that way you can just paint over what you want selected. the different tools like magic lasso and what not are fast but give sketchy results.

[jiminyClickit]

hh28360,

Adobe PhotoDeluxe is an older edit program, using more intuitive functions and language. The first tool I use (on a copy layer of original) is Trace (Select), to remove (Delete) sections of background while zoomed in. It's fast, and leaves just a little bit to Erase with a small brush. When subject has a clean believable edge, I place it on top of a second layer (copy of original) which has been darkened and blurred. If your blur spills out beyond top layer of subject, you can Smudge the offending colors back under subject layer (like sweeping crumbs under a carpet) with a large brush.