Getting that Deep Rich Look?!?!

[Undercover.Nerd]

Hello All!

I've always been super fascinated with that Deep Rich look you can often see in portraits. Like this: goo.gl/SG1vkI

Do any of ya'll have a tutorial, know-how, or guidance on such a technique?

Here are some other examples:

• goo.gl/Cx2ujm
• goo.gl/uupRaC
  
• goo.gl/IyCgWH

Any help is appreciated!

 

[deeky]

Lighting is huge as it allows the subject to pop but keep the other areas darker. Then it's just a matter of adjusting your curves, increasing saturation, contrast, and probably some clarity in there too.

At least that's may take on it unless others have some presets for you...

 

[Designer]

The colors appear to be over-saturated to me. Such editing techniques are useful if the editor knows how to use them. And why.

 

[TCampbell]

I immediately noticed two things about the look...

#1 - There's a vignette applied to the image. If you shoot at a minimum focal ratio for a lens, the physics of how light moves through the lens causes the center of the image to be brighter than the edges (at high focal ratios this effect disappears). You can apply this effect in software either as a "lens vignette" or a "gamma vignette" -- in one it's a simple dimming around the edges and in the other it's a dimming with a moderate bit of saturation.

#2 - The images are pushing the darks to blacks -- this is a kind of contrast adjustment usually applied either with "levels" or "curves" adjustment.

 

[Derrel]

Another way to achieve this look is to start with a well-saturated image, make it somewhat dark, and then use an adjustment brush, or a series of brushes, to lighten up the areas of interest. If you look at these shots, you can see the pattern of the environment being dark, but the subject (little red riding hood and her lantern) being lighter than the surrounding, scene areas. Light advances, dark recedes is the simplified way of thinking about this: a light object seems to come to the forefront when it is found within a darker scene or setting. This is one of the reasons, as Tim mentioned, that applying a vignette can be so effective. After the most important subject, like say red riding hood, has been lightened up a bit, it's also possible to "paint on" selected adjustments that will further enhance the lightened areas, such as selective sharpening, or added clarity, or added saturation, or along the same lines, it's possible to paint on softening to areas that you want to sort of become less sharp, less crisp, less noticeable. In this type of fantasy Red Riding Hood in the woods type of a set-up shot, the natural feel is somewhat DARK to begin with...we can easily accept that it's dark in the woods...and she has a lantern, and has fair skin...we can easily accept a fairly tale type processing look, even if it's a bit extreme. In the shots the one fellow did of the brunette woman with the dark brown leather couches and dark carpet, the same thing would apply...make the surroundings darker...make sure the woman is brighter, sharper, clearer.. BOOM! She stands out in her tan dress and white socks, while the entire room and furnishings easily are visually sublimated due to being a lot darker.

If you notice, a lot of the people who do these types of shots this way have very little actual "lighting" visible, and there are sometimes very unnatural, odd, even dumb Photoshop tricks that look really hokey. One of my favorites is the Malaysian fellow who somehow inhabits a world in which young kids frolic in the countryside, and water buffalo graze in the fields, and the kids and the whole world are all brilliantly back-lighted by a Sun that can, and which does, shine from multiple directions at the same time!

 

[AlanKlein]

Start with a pretty model.

 

[Scatterbrained]

Hello All!

I've always been super fascinated with that Deep Rich look you can often see in portraits. Like this: goo.gl/SG1vkI

Do any of ya'll have a tutorial, know-how, or guidance on such a technique?

Here are some other examples:

• goo.gl/Cx2ujm
• goo.gl/uupRaC
  
• goo.gl/IyCgWH

Any help is appreciated!

As Derrel pointed out, the darker, almost monochromatic background coupled with a light toned subject is the big key here. Notice that these scenes all have very simple color palettes, and that the backgrounds tend towards low key while the subjects are not only lighter in tone but about a stop brighter in their actual light value. The scenes are simple. The color palette is simple. The lighting on the scene appears fairly uniform (no random bright spots behind the subject). The colors are all "earth tones", nothing that would distract from the subject. Add to that the subtle DOF falloff you get with a wide angle lens (35mm wide open in those shots). A wide angle lens (not ultra wide) shot wide open will render a crisp subject and a soft but still fully rendered background, helping to give an image context while ensuring that the subject really stands out. These are all things that can be handled in the camera.

The processing on these is actually fairly simple, yet subtle and I'd say fairly skillful. Nothing ham-fisted or over the top here. As far as lighting these look like they could have all been done with natural light and careful subject placement, maybe a reflector or diffusion panel as well.

 

[tecboy]

I keep clicking next to see next photo. I keep seeing each woman with same body mass, same expression, and same age. Each photograph is a same concept. I keep clicking next, and I got bored seeing each photo. I better stop clicking next!

 

[soufiej]

I keep clicking next to see next photo. I keep seeing each woman with same body mass, same expression, and same age. Each photograph is a same concept. I keep clicking next, and I got bored seeing each photo. I better stop clicking next!

At 3 AM, yeah, there's probably something better to do.

 

[Braineack]

get a really fast lens.

get rich to persuade pretty women.

take subpar photos.

spend 30 hours on each editing/processing to make it salvageable.

 

[Undercover.Nerd]

get a really fast lens.

get rich to persuade pretty women.

take subpar photos.

spend 30 hours on each editing/processing to make it salvageable.

What would you recommend, since you don't fancy these photos?

 

[Undercover.Nerd]

Another way to achieve this look is to start with a well-saturated image, make it somewhat dark, and then use an adjustment brush, or a series of brushes, to lighten up the areas of interest. If you look at these shots, you can see the pattern of the environment being dark, but the subject (little red riding hood and her lantern) being lighter than the surrounding, scene areas. Light advances, dark recedes is the simplified way of thinking about this: a light object seems to come to the forefront when it is found within a darker scene or setting. This is one of the reasons, as Tim mentioned, that applying a vignette can be so effective. After the most important subject, like say red riding hood, has been lightened up a bit, it's also possible to "paint on" selected adjustments that will further enhance the lightened areas, such as selective sharpening, or added clarity, or added saturation, or along the same lines, it's possible to paint on softening to areas that you want to sort of become less sharp, less crisp, less noticeable. In this type of fantasy Red Riding Hood in the woods type of a set-up shot, the natural feel is somewhat DARK to begin with...we can easily accept that it's dark in the woods...and she has a lantern, and has fair skin...we can easily accept a fairly tale type processing look, even if it's a bit extreme. In the shots the one fellow did of the brunette woman with the dark brown leather couches and dark carpet, the same thing would apply...make the surroundings darker...make sure the woman is brighter, sharper, clearer.. BOOM! She stands out in her tan dress and white socks, while the entire room and furnishings easily are visually sublimated due to being a lot darker.

If you notice, a lot of the people who do these types of shots this way have very little actual "lighting" visible, and there are sometimes very unnatural, odd, even dumb Photoshop tricks that look really hokey. One of my favorites is the Malaysian fellow who somehow inhabits a world in which young kids frolic in the countryside, and water buffalo graze in the fields, and the kids and the whole world are all brilliantly back-lighted by a Sun that can, and which does, shine from multiple directions at the same time!

Thank you for the reply! This is well in depth

 

[Braineack]

get a really fast lens.

get rich to persuade pretty women.

take subpar photos.

spend 30 hours on each editing/processing to make it salvageable.

What would you recommend, since you don't fancy these photos?

its not that I dont like them, but most of the effort was put into post on these. Most of the photos themselves are photos anyone could do with a fast lens (plus money to attract these women to pose). What makes them something special is the countless hours in post.