Teapots and Square Framing

[Jboy]

Well, this pic was an experiment for a lot of things.

First I tried the square framing from the article in the blog. I sort of like the tight crop, but I think should've removed more of the shadow.

Also, I wanted a fairly shallow depth of field. So the handle blurring is on purpose. Unfortunately, the image still wasn't very sharp, possibly because of the lens? I tried many apertures, shutter speeds, a tripod, and flash, but none helped. So I applied the Orton effect. I sort of like it, but it would probably work better on something less... er, round.

Finally - and this really bugs me - I can't seem to get the color right. The color in Photoshop looks different from the color of the final saved file. If anyone would know how to up the color contrast (rather than brightness contrast), I think it would save the shot. It looked so much nicer in the LCD... and even in the raw viewer.

So any crits appreciated. :D It's my first pic on a DSLR, so I could definitely use the advice.

Body: Canon EOS Rebel XTi 400d
Lens: Canon EF 28-90mm f/4-5.6
Shutter speed: 1/4
Focal length: 56.0mm
ISO speed: 800

[Japaslavian]

Originally Posted by Jboy

If anyone would know how to up the color contrast (rather than brightness contrast), I think it would save the shot.

I developed this contrast technique playing around on PS one day, and I've stuck with it ever since.

1. Make a duplicate layer.

2. Go to Image>Adjustments>Equalize (It will probably look weird here)
~The equalize function takes your single most extreme highlights and shadows and pulls them to pure white and pure black respectively on the histogram.

3. Next make the equalized layer into a 'soft light' blend mode (small drop box on top of layer palette)

4. Adjust the opacity until you get the desired contrast. I usually use somewhere between 20-50% depending on the shot.

Because of how the Equalize function works, this should not blow out highlights or lose information in your shadows anywhere near as bad or at all as Brightness/Contrast.

There, my secrets out