PLEASE CAN SOMEONE HELP ME ACHIEVE THIS 'LOOK'

[matt_finish]

Hi everyone,

I have been trying for AGES to get advice on how to achieve a look that I see around quite a bit without success. I think the main problem is that I'm unsure how to describe it, I always use the term 'matte look' but that results in the same curve adjustment process that results in a very hazy matte style which isn't what I'm looking for.
It's more like the blacks and darks in a photo look matte but without a haze over the entire image - always quite 'sharp' looking and almost starts to look like a painting.
A good example is this portrait of Macklemore by John Keatley:

John Keatley - Macklemore Rockin? The Thrift Shop Fur

Can anyone help with either advice on how to achieve this look or at the very least describe it so i might be able to find someone who can help!!!

Thanks in advance

 

[Braineack]

I would describe it as wanting my photograhpy to look like a Rembrant painting:

public domain

 

[matt_finish]

I'm guessing you're not being serious, but it's not the vibe i'm interested in, just the 'texture' of the shot

 

[Braineack]

how was that not serious?

it was shot using dramatic Rembrandt lighting (e.g., triangle of highlight under his left eye, one side brightly lit) and processed to give it a similar feel that is reminiscent of a Rembrandt painting.

as far as the processing, all I can tell is that the clarity slider was kicked up and there were lots of filters done to the colors.

doing stuff maybe like this:

 

[IronMaskDuval]

I think Brain pointed you in the right direction. Simply google Rembrandt lighting. tadah!

 

[matt_finish]

Thanks for the help so far - i realise im not explaining myself well.

It's not so much the lighting im interested in, it's the texture as i said - its also evident in the portraits in this series

Portraits of Children Around the World and Where They Sleep - My Modern Metropolis

 

[IronMaskDuval]

Thanks for the help so far - i realise im not explaining myself well.

It's not so much the lighting im interested in, it's the texture as i said - its also evident in the portraits in this series

Portraits of Children Around the World and Where They Sleep - My Modern Metropolis

It looks like the clarity level is ramped up.

 

[Braineack]

clarity slider set to unrealistic.

 

[matt_finish]

hahahahaha - 'set to unrealistic' nice. ive tried using a heavy clarity slide before but it never seems to look the same.

Its like all these shots have nice drk tones and strong blacks but the picture does'nt seem 'solid' or have a lot of 'weight' - both poor adjectives i know

Honestly guys thanks so much for the help so far - and please kick back in if you think of anything else

really appreciate it

 

[HitenNainaney]

It's not as much about the light as it is about the processing. Off course the light plays an important role in giving it that look, but the processing is giving it that mute colors but sharp image look.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Ysarex]

Looks like some light tone mapping is being applied in post. Here's an example. I pushed it pretty hard so the effect is obvious.

Joe

 

[Derrel]

clarity slider set to unrealistic.

YES, but after a Lightroom HDR Effect-Heavy pre-set has been applied, and then the clarity filter slid wayyyy over to the right. The HDR Effect-Heavy does a tone-mapping effect similar to what, well, doing it by hand does, but it does NOT look "unrealistic" or "over-cooked" until you jack up the clarity to ridonculos levels, which is the way I'd describe the way so many people want images to look these days, as a cheap way to catch the eye when people scan down a jillion pics on some web page, or on a mobile device.

Get the HDR Effect Lightroom preset here, for free. http://lightroomkillertips.com/