Alternate processing of Veteran's portrait - opinions please.

tirediron · Sep 6, 2015

This image is another from the series I took of LCol Moffat for my Veteran's portrait project. This particular image just didn't seem to have a lot of impact as a [more or less] SOOC colour image, and even in a fairly traditional black and white processing it was okay, but without much oomph. This version; a combination of NiK Silver Efex and some further tweaking in PS is one that I like, but... I've learned long ago, that what I like is not necessarily what others like. I realize it's quite dark, and I wasn't trying to emulate a specific look or style, rather just find a processing that seemed to work with his expression, and the WWI uniform and rifle.

So... does it? How say you?

Derrel · Sep 6, 2015

I can barely tell there's a rifle in it. And the helmet's top and his shoulders just merge with the backdrop. It just seems strange that there's five percent of the frame lit up, and the other 95% is totally dark and detail-free. His hand looks...well...not sure what the proper word is, really, but I will say odd, because it's difficult to tell if his hand has suffered an injury or if it's just a trick of the low lighting.

sm4him · Sep 6, 2015

I'm probably a little biased here, because you know how much I love these veteran's portraits you do.
Overall, I really like this--if I had to nitpick something, it's that I wish the light extended down to his hand a little more. Not a lot, but I just wish the hand was as light as, say, the area around the top 3 snaps on his jacket.

In other news: Tell me this guy wasn't *really* in WW1! Wouldn't that make him about 115 years old? There's got to be more of a story to this.

sm4him · Sep 6, 2015

Addendum: If he has a rifle, then I'm gonna have to agree with @Derrel that it's too dark--because I completely missed the rifle!

Derrel · Sep 6, 2015

sm4him said:
Addendum: If he has a rifle, then I'm gonna have to agree with @Derrel that it's too dark--because I completely missed the rifle!

"Pretty please, sir, may I have some dodge tool?"

tirediron · Sep 6, 2015

Derrel said:
I can barely tell there's a rifle in it. And the helmet's top and his shoulders just merge with the backdrop. It just seems strange that there's five percent of the frame lit up, and the other 95% is totally dark and detail-free. His hand looks...well...not sure what the proper word is, really, but I will say odd, because it's difficult to tell if his hand has suffered an injury or if it's just a trick of the low lighting.

Good point, Derrel, thanks! Now that I look at it, you're right about all the 'black' space. That needs a re-think.

sm4him said:
I'm probably a little biased here, because you know how much I love these veteran's portraits you do.
Overall, I really like this--if I had to nitpick something, it's that I wish the light extended down to his hand a little more. Not a lot, but I just wish the hand was as light as, say, the area around the top 3 snaps on his jacket.

In other news: Tell me this guy wasn't *really* in WW1! Wouldn't that make him about 115 years old? There's got to be more of a story to this.

Thanks Sharon, and no, he's NOT a WWI vet; he's actually post-Korean war, but was into historical re-enactments for many years, hence the old gear.

tirediron · Sep 6, 2015

Okay, back to the pixel room we go....

Ysarex · Sep 6, 2015

Face is perfect -- I think you can get the same basic effect with a little more detail in the jacket, hand and rifle -- vignette to black stays.

Joe

tirediron · Sep 6, 2015

Ysarex said:
Face is perfect -- I think you can get the same basic effect with a little more detail in the jacket, hand and rifle -- vignette to black stays.

Joe

Yup... thanks!

FITBMX · Sep 6, 2015

Derrel said:
I can barely tell there's a rifle in it. And the helmet's top and his shoulders just merge with the backdrop. It just seems strange that there's five percent of the frame lit up, and the other 95% is totally dark and detail-free. His hand looks...well...not sure what the proper word is, really, but I will say odd, because it's difficult to tell if his hand has suffered an injury or if it's just a trick of the low lighting.

It looks like his hand was badly burned, but you're right it's hard to tell.

Milky · Sep 7, 2015

look good to me, but I would:
- Lighten the hand and rifle area a bit
- See what it looks like in plain B&W

medic2230 · Sep 7, 2015

I like a dark B&W but I agree that the lower uniform and hand need a little lightening.

tirediron · Sep 7, 2015

Milky said:
look good to me, but I would:
- Lighten the hand and rifle area a bit
- See what it looks like in plain B&W

Tried "plain" black & white.... bleah!

medic2230 said:
I like a dark B&W but I agree that the lower uniform and hand need a little lightening.

Thanks!

tirediron · Sep 7, 2015

Okay, now first and foremost, IGNORE the colour of the vignette I've superimposed on the image. The actual prints will have a proper matte-card oval vignette, colour to suit. This version has a number of subtle tweaks. I tried lightening the rifle area and hand, but I wasn't happy with the results. I really want the final result to be reminiscent of an image that might have been taken in France in 1914. I realize that oval vignettes were pretty much out of fashion by then, but it's a good way to mask the empty space in the frame (I think).

Thoughts on version 2.3?