B&W Help

[JacaRanda]

Please feel free to try your hand at processing this. I think it's worthy of a B&W conversion, but I'm just not feeling it.

DPH-0164 by jsteve5506, on Flickr

Version 2 attempt. Lifted shadows, lightened the blue (all water in background) brushed in some contrast to hair, and increased vignette.
Untitled by jsteve5506, on Flickr

 

[407370]

How about the HDR look?

 

[Designer]

Cool, Jack, you found a statue of a surfer!

 

[KenC]

The light isn't your friend here - very contrasty with deep shadows - and the background looks kind of muddy because there are no highlights Try to lighten the background a bit. If that's water at the top, there probably is more blue there than elsewhere in the frame, so try raising the cyan slider to lighten it and maybe the yellow for the sand. You could also selectively increase contrast a little with a curves adjustment, perhaps in his hair.

 

[The_Traveler]

how about posting the original color?

 

[waday]

Do you have the original?

 

[JacaRanda]

Here is the very next image.

DPH-0165 by jsteve5506, on Flickr

 

[jcdeboever]

 

[JacaRanda]

The light isn't your friend here - very contrasty with deep shadows - and the background looks kind of muddy because there are no highlights Try to lighten the background a bit. If that's water at the top, there probably is more blue there than elsewhere in the frame, so try raising the cyan slider to lighten it and maybe the yellow for the sand. You could also selectively increase contrast a little with a curves adjustment, perhaps in his hair.

Ah, then I could very well be way off thinking it's a good candidate for B&W. Better to think of making a B&W when shooting instead of everything in color and hoping to get lucky.

 

[JacaRanda]

View attachment 111872

I actually like the stronger vignette. One of those things......I tried not to make mine noticeable, but like what you have done with it.

 

[JacaRanda]

How about the HDR look?
View attachment 111857

I rather like that also. Thank you.

 

[jcdeboever]

I prefer the first one. Just giving you ideas.

 

[The_Traveler]

 

[JacaRanda]

View attachment 111873

I prefer the first one. Just giving you ideas.

Interesting, this version is somewhat easing towards the HDR look 407370 did.

 

[Designer]

Ah, then I could very well be way off thinking it's a good candidate for B&W. Better to think of making a B&W when shooting instead of everything in color and hoping to get lucky.

There might be something to that line of thinking. In my experience, some subjects make good B&W candidates and others just don't.