What a critique can do for you!

[SandeeWig]

I had the opportunity to shoot a fashion show fundraiser last weekend and was pretty pleased with the way the shots came out, only requiring minor enhancements in Digital Photo Pro. I even shared several on dPS the very next day in share your shots.

After looking at them for a couple of days, they started to look a little "flat". I knew they could be better and played with a few in photoshop; afterwhich I posted a comparison critique up. The advice I got opened up a whole new world to what my pictures could be and I have been able to bring life into the images I saw through my viewfinder.

Before, with minor curves and brightness adjustments in DPP:


After, with white balance adjustment, minor curves, levels, saturation, contrast adjustments in photoshop; eye/lip dodge/burn, despeckle and noise reduction (all separate layers, merging between major adjustments). Because the spotlight cut off most of the models' legs, which - for those in skirts - made their legs look gray/purple, I decided to create a new layer, use the lasso tool to draw around the subject about where the spotlight hit her, inverse selection and mask out subject, multiply the layer and gaussian blur to darken the perimeter (i.e. vignette) so that the subject really pops where the spotlight was actually hitting her.


Big ups to Wulf and oldwolf for their awesome insight and suggestions!

Thanks for looking!

[Sooner_Girl27]

Great job!!!!

Nice job, it does add some to the photo.

But, be honest.... that's a man, right?

[oldwolf]

great job!

the after picture really pops now.

[tjphoto]

I agree that the 2nd one is better,But is there something going on with her legs?Is there just a tad little too much vignette making her right leg too dark?SUPER pose

[t blanchard]

Great work! Her right leg does look darker, but in the original shot it's not very well-lit from the runway lights. Maybe something to play with. Overall, great pp work!!!

[midnightsoiree]

I actually am experiencing the same thing. At times i am satisfied with my work. then after i sleep on it, i kind of rip my hair off realize that it's bleeh.

I agree. Critiques does wonders. I always say this "TWYSI, TWISI" meaning: The Way You See It, The Way I See It. Feedback is required for learning. =)

[SandeeWig]

Originally Posted by Sooner_Girl27

Great job!!!!

Thanks Sooner_Girl!

Originally Posted by maxharvard

Nice job, it does add some to the photo.

But, be honest.... that's a man, right?

maxharvard! To the best of my knowledge all the models dressed in accordance with their gender. I, did not, however, confirm (or question) that at the time.

Thanks, dude.

Originally Posted by oldwolf

great job!
the after picture really pops now.

Thanks so much, oldwolf! The white balance was definitely the key. When I changed it, at first, it looked so blue, but then I realized it was because the surrounding area outside the spotlight really wasn't as light as DPP made it. So, that gave me the idea for the vignette, which seemed to make her stand out even more.

Originally Posted by tjphoto

I agree that the 2nd one is better,But is there something going on with her legs?Is there just a tad little too much vignette making her right leg too dark?SUPER pose

Thanks for your comments, tj. Yes, something is definitely going on with her legs...they have been cut out of the spotlight by the spotlight operator. Notice her shadow and where she's chopped by the light on her arm and legs? I made the vignette intentionally to match, since the color would be off regardless. I don't possess the PS skills to make her legs look as if they were lit the same as the rest of her.

Totally with you on the pose!

Originally Posted by t blanchard

Great work! Her right leg does look darker, but in the original shot it's not very well-lit from the runway lights. Maybe something to play with. Overall, great pp work!!!

Thank you t blanchard!! I started to get very excited as I saw the difference between the original processing and new. I have about 100 of these to process, so it's rather time consuming, but definitely worth it I feel. Several of the ladies have on dresses (not all quite so short as this one), so I've got the discolored leg issue going on in several images.

Originally Posted by midnightsoiree

I actually am experiencing the same thing. At times i am satisfied with my work. then after i sleep on it, i kind of rip my hair off realize that it's bleeh.

I agree. Critiques does wonders. I always say this "TWYSI, TWISI" meaning: The Way You See It, The Way I See It. Feedback is required for learning. =)

midnightsoiree, I couldn't agree more. At first, honest critique can be disheartening if you take it too personally, especially when you feel the shot is decent to begin with. But if you're really looking to improve on what you know, this is a fabulous resource to improve upon it every step of the way.

Thanks so much for your thoughts.

[tjphoto]

Originally Posted by SandeeWig

I had the opportunity to shoot a fashion show fundraiser last weekend and was pretty pleased with the way the shots came out, only requiring minor enhancements in Digital Photo Pro. I even shared several on dPS the very next day in share your shots.

After looking at them for a couple of days, they started to look a little "flat". I knew they could be better and played with a few in photoshop; afterwhich I posted a comparison critique up. The advice I got opened up a whole new world to what my pictures could be and I have been able to bring life into the images I saw through my viewfinder.

Before, with minor curves and brightness adjustments in DPP:


After, with white balance adjustment, minor curves, levels, saturation, contrast adjustments in photoshop; eye/lip dodge/burn, despeckle and noise reduction (all separate layers, merging between major adjustments). Because the spotlight cut off most of the models' legs, which - for those in skirts - made their legs look gray/purple, I decided to create a new layer, use the lasso tool to draw around the subject about where the spotlight hit her, inverse selection and mask out subject, multiply the layer and gaussian blur to darken the perimeter (i.e. vignette) so that the subject really pops where the spotlight was actually hitting her.


Big ups to Wulf and oldwolf for their awesome insight and suggestions!

Thanks for looking!

I believe because you used layers,you can go back to the layer you did the vignette and remove the discolouration of the vignette from her leg with the eraser at 25-30% It has discoloured both the right leg and the bottom of the left leg.(with out removing the whole lot) if you so choose!

[Quo Fan]

If you look at the shadow behind her, you will see that the spotlight was not on her right leg, which puts it in the shadow. I would leave the after the way it is, because if you lighten up her leg, then the shadow on the wall won't match the model.