Portrait - OTE!!

[MommyOf4Boys]

I am just not happy with this photo. I am sure that there can be something done to make the colors really pop, but I am just not doing it right. I do not want the shadow on his face to be too distracting, so when I adjust the levels and do the curves it overdoes his face too much. Please feel free to give it a try or give suggestions!

 

[Andrea K]

Hey, Sara.

I just quickly went into PS and did auto levels and color correction. This is what I came up with, it's not too much of a difference but I think the colors are perhaps better.

I tried

 

[MommyOf4Boys]

Thanks mucho Andrea!

 

[woodsac]

Here's another slightly different edit.

 

[duncanp]

wood urs looks a little over-sharpened

 

[Rob]

Here's my effort. Basically it's a Velvia look - increased saturation and colour channels individiually mixed and enhanced. Also a 5% bump to contrast.

Let me know if this was what you were thinking:

Rob

 

[Rob]

Upon re-inspecting, it looks damn similar to Woodies!!

Rob

 

[nitefly]

wood urs looks a little over-sharpened

It looks fine to me

 

[MommyOf4Boys]

Thanks so much guys. I was just having one of those days where everything that could go wrong, went wrong and I just could not get my head into getting my brain to sync with PS! LOL
Ya'll did exactly what I wanted!

 

[2framesbelowzero]

I am just not happy with this photo. I am sure that there can be something done to make the colors really pop, but I am just not doing it right. I do not want the shadow on his face to be too distracting, so when I adjust the levels and do the curves it overdoes his face too much. Please feel free to give it a try or give suggestions!

Maybe try the shot at a different time of day. Better shadow-effect in the morning, fuller colors in the later afternoon.

 

[Christie Photo]

Well... I had to mess with it too.

Pete

 

[MommyOf4Boys]

Pete, removing the car and other distractions - great idea! Thanks!

 

[markc]

The main problem I see here is that his face is in shadow while the whole rest of the scene is in bright sunlight. One of things I try to remember in my mental checklist is to check for "bright". Are the parts of the subject I want to emphasize the ones that are well lit? Is there any part of the background "bright" in comparison and so will distract? Here, it's pretty much opposite of what you want. You don't need his face lit with the background in shade, but his face should be at least as bright if you want it to get the attention of the viewer.

Using curves, I boosted the contrast of the image overall just a touch, and then I lightened just the face and boosted it's contrast a little more using a mask. The blown-out arms still distract, as they are the brightest part of the image, but his face gets your attention a little bit more now. With a little more time, you could probably get it to blend a little better with the rest of the image.

 

[MommyOf4Boys]

Thanks Mark, that looks great. I usually try to pay attention to shadows, but was snap happy on this day and in a hurry and trying to keep bottles in both baby's mouths LOL!