Animate my eyes.

[Phoenix_Jackson]

I chose this picture 'cause I'll feel bad if I won't work on it. It's my first go with Photomatix which I'm having a little bit of a hard time grasping the technique. I'm not used to meeting natural-looking and extreme-processed halfway. So I don't know if this image is good or not and I don't know if I should push it further.

My objective is to make the girl look more natural within this animated world. I had to use layer mask on her skin (photomatix made her look like a zombie) with a bit of soft-glow to match a bit more with the background and her clothes. I'm not so convinced if I blended them just right. Next would be the saturation, if it's just right. I find it a bit much but any lesser doesn't look colorful enough to fit the theme. And with that, those 2 girls behind her. I can't do much about it during the shooting. But I wonder if they're too distracting especially with their colors. I don't know how to fix it either (I'm still weak on cloning out things). The clouds are a bit of a big issue. I feel like it needs something. Perhaps a different HDR process and layer mask it? I don't know but I feel like it needs a bit more detail but I have to be careful since noise is starting to show up. Then lastly are the tones. Lowering it to match a good white-balance might look more natural (which I think wouldn't match the theme again) but will whiten the girl's skin so much, she'll look like one of those in Japanese theaters.

I feel like this is good enough but there are times that I wonder if I should push more.


Violet by phoenix_jackson2002, on Flickr

I'm asking about specific parts of the image but I also wonder how I did over-all. This is the first time that the subject asked for a copy. She like the original but has been bugging me to send her my best edit. I don't know if this is good enough processing to show as a "best edit".
Thank you very much for taking time on this.

[JFSanders]

I went and looked at your SOOC image on flickr and compared it to what you have done here and I think I understand what you were going for, so I gave it a try. What do you think?

Jim

[High_Speed]

I love the bold colors. Not oversatured, just really bold. The only thing that really bothers me is the halos along the tree line. If you can fix that, I think it would be a great print.

[Phoenix_Jackson]

Eww! I didn't even notice those halos until mentioned. I thought they were just part of the HDR effect. I think that'll be my next challenge then; tackling halos.

JFSanders, I see your approach on this and I'm taking notes.

I guess this is a "just okay" image then? With my limited skills and knowledge I'll take that rating.

Thank you guys. You're truly awesome!

[crockny]

I like the colors and sky and overall tones of this -- quite dramatic. Brush up on your cloning (pun intended!) and get rid of those girls and maybe the painted line in the road ... also if there were some way to set her hair off from the background, it blends in on one side - maybe a touch of lightening the background around the hair area (not too much)? Overall great job I think ...

[profcarlos]

I would desaturate, red, magenta, cyan and blue, at least in the background, instead of removing the too-colorful people in the back. IMHO, the chromatic contrast between the dress and the greens/yellows behind should be kept, but it would be more emphasized by toning down the other oversaturated stuff instead of saturating everything more.
But the pic is good enough for all of this to be just a matter of taste.

[3bayjunkie]

what is she standing on?

[Phoenix_Jackson]

Wow! I honestly am surprised you guys still took time on this. It's very flattering.

Well, I showed her the picture from the OP and I gave her examples and drafts of what else I could do. It turns out she liked the way it looked with just the girls cropped out. So she had it printed (I don't know what size but I'm comfortable giving her the the biggest file I can produce) and the rest is a thank you and 20 bucks (equivalent)... I didn't want to take the money but it was almost lunch.

It's funny. I was the one who asked to take her picture. It was intended for me to learn more about photography. Had it posted on facebook, flickr, and my blog, and with such a doubtful execution, I still got paid. It feels weird.

BTW she wasn't standing on anything. That plate-looking thing was part of her dress. Maybe she attached a hoop to keep it from being stepped at when she walks.

All-in-all, thank you so much for taking time on this. I was really surprised this got bumped up.

[wulf]

I thought the eyes were too dark but I see the original also looks that way. Was the intention that eyes would be painted in on top (I'm making a guess from the title you used)?

Also, another little thought about the original - I wonder if the model was wearing her dress a bit tight. It causes her to bulge a bit round the top of the arms in a way that I don't think is very flattering. That kind of thing is frequently fixed in post-production on professional fashion shoots but it is always worth getting as near as you can in the original.

I guess it is all done and dusted now but worth keeping in mind for when a similar opportunity presents itself.

Wulf

[Phoenix_Jackson]

Ah, I see how my title mislead a bit. Apart from her clothes and hair, her look (including eye make-up) is in fact the commons in normal, everyday, Seoul. So I guess the answer is "yes". I just didn't notice it made the eyes too dark to details since I'm used to such look.

I'm glad you commented on her top. I never noticed that and I think neither did she (otherwise she'd complain about it). You've taught me to look more into these details when it comes to these shots. I can see it looks too tight. But I think it wouldn't show how tight it is if she's standing up straight (I could only speculate but maybe that's the reason why she didn't notice it the first place). My fault. I should've noticed that, especially that I'm so weak with post-processing. Another lesson learned.

Wow, thanks Admin!