Help with a B&W conversion

[Mefistofeles]

I toke this photo a while ago in Queretaro, México.



I loved the expression, the art work... pretty much everything.

Now i want it in Black and White and i don't have photoshop, what i use it's a "photoimpression 4"... it was already installed on my computer and as you can imagine, it's not exactly top of the line.

This is what i came up with:



I added more contrast, and darkened the shadows at the left of the face.

Still, it's not what i'm after.

What i'm looking for is to stand out the face and it's factions. As it is right now, i think there is too much contrast around the face so it doesn't stand out as much as i like. Any suggestions??

So, feel free to download the full size version from my flickr and edit it as much as you want, just as long as you re-post the final product (Black and white or color) on the DPS forums. ... yeah! so everybody can enjoy the artwork..

[Mike Burnett]

Mef, this is a pretty cool subject. I agree, the face SHOULD be the focal point. The black and white conversion you did (in my opinion) has made the image "too bright". Also the lines of the arches tend to lead my eye toward that spiral thing below the face.

My suggestion:
Try cropping! A simple crop my eliminate some unnecessary shapes and tones, place the face in a better position (ROT), and let the face fill more of the image. Right now it seems very small, and it's right in the center of the picture.

Darken the image It has a very gothic gargoyley (if that's a word) feel to it. Try to bring down the highlights a bit (or darken the whole image to keep the contrast); this might also lead your eye away from that super bright spiraly thing below the face.

These are just the opinions of one small man, but I hope they help!

[xxpinballxx]

do you have the original color version to link so we can use that. I need the color to alter the B&W the way I think is best.......
And again i think a crop will help alot without taking too much of the architectural detail out.

[Mefistofeles]

Originally Posted by Mike Burnett

Mef, this is a pretty cool subject. I agree, the face SHOULD be the focal point. The black and white conversion you did (in my opinion) has made the image "too bright". Also the lines of the arches tend to lead my eye toward that spiral thing below the face.

Hey Mike.. thanks a lot for the advice.. I didn't noticed that the lines of the arches lead the eye into spiral thing...and that damn thing is the one that gave a headache the other day i was trying to modife the image... it's too bright

Originally Posted by xxpinballxx

do you have the original color version to link so we can use that. I need the color to alter the B&W the way I think is best.......
And again i think a crop will help a lot without taking too much of the architectural detail out.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/balamfo...86510/sizes/o/

This is the link for the large size on flickr. Too bad i didn't take with a higher resolution

[KathrynWilson]

Another thing I found is that I feel like your BW misses something by not having the warm tones of the color version.

[Mefistofeles]

So i croped and gave it a little bit more contrast... all using the flickr edition tool I guess it came out ok




So what do you think people??? better?

[Mefistofeles]

So... is it better???... i really liked it... do you like it??..

[embrodak]

I really like the final crop. It brings out the sneer!!

[Mstee4eva]

I like the last pic it is really great, alot better than the 1st two.

[Jinxed_for_Life]

Gave editing your photo a shot. :]



I cropped it, enhanced the shadows, adjusted curves, added a slight grunge texture, aaand that's about it.