Self Portrait - Opinions if you please

[crashcart]

Took this in natural light, 50mm f1.8. I know that my head is tilted a little, but does that really detract? If you have any other thoughts, please let me know. Thanks in advance. And yes, the cropped version is my avatar, but may no longer be depending on what you tell me.

 

[Sherman Banks]

I would personally push the levels a bit more, but it's not bad. The asymmetry is a bit odd though.

 

[crashcart]

I would personally push the levels a bit more, but it's not bad. The asymmetry is a bit odd though.

Not to sound dumb, but specifically, what levels are you talking about?

 

[rmh159]

It looks like you just held the cam in front of your face and snapped the shot. Why not include the entire face and put some thought into how you want it to look (subject, background, lighting, etc.).

 

[Sherman Banks]

Not to sound dumb, but specifically, what levels are you talking about?

Basically pushing the contrast. By pushing the levels, I'm saying to push your darker values towards black, your lighter values towards white, and adjusting your middle values to balance out the exposure. If you're using Photoshop, add a Levels adjustment layer and move your sliders inward and adjust the central slider to your liking. If you're not using Photoshop (or any editing program), your camera most likely has in-camera editing where you can just add more contrast.

 

[PhotoXopher]

Snapshot.

That's all I can think of to describe me thoughts on it.

 

[crashcart]

Thanks for the tips, everyone. I will keep myself planted firmly in the Beginner's Forum and change my avatar ASAP :sillysmi:

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

Sherman, you just taught me something valuable!
I didn't know you could create adjustment "layers"!
I always applied directly to the image.

Thanks!

 

[Sherman Banks]

I always duplicate layer before applying any effects directly to the image, but the adjustment layers are great because you can adjust the opacity/blending options, etc.

Crashcart, don't change your avatar man. The shot is not bad, just needed some minor changes to make it stronger. Here is a quick edit I did in Photoshop, and I can fully explain the adjustments made if you like it. Of course, this is pretty gritty (which I kind of define my style as), but I assume you weren't going for a glamour shot anyways right?

 

[ANDS!]

I would personally push the levels a bit more, but it's not bad. The asymmetry is a bit odd though.

Not to sound dumb, but specifically, what levels are you talking about?

Lol. I had a snarky comment but you nailed it. And I would never use the "Levels" command to adjust contrast in my image, unless some obvious edits (underexposure for example, or not deep enough blacks) are needed.

For contrast edits I would first convert my image to the LAB-mode, and then add a Curve Adjustment Layer. In the Luminosity layer (which will be the first layer) add a simple S-curve (drag the line down on the left side, and drag it up on the left side) and bam - Instant-Contrast. You can also adjust for any underexposure in the luminosity panel. The reason this is BETTER than using a Levels adjustment in the RGB color space, is that in LAB, the luminosity ONLY affects the "brightness" values of the image - it will NOT touch the actual colors. RGB adjusts the color values in any layer mask you apply.

 

[Sherman Banks]

For contrast edits I would first convert my image to the LAB-mode, and then add a Curve Adjustment Layer. In the Luminosity layer (which will be the first layer) add a simple S-curve (drag the line down on the left side, and drag it up on the left side) and bam - Instant-Contrast. You can also adjust for any underexposure in the luminosity panel. The reason this is BETTER than using a Levels adjustment in the RGB color space, is that in LAB, the luminosity ONLY affects the "brightness" values of the image - it will NOT touch the actual colors. RGB adjusts the color values in any layer mask you apply.

Ahhh... Good to know. :thumbup: I'll have to mess around with that this evening. We're all learning something new here!

 

[crashcart]

Sherman, awesome job!!

Did a retouch in Photoshop. Thoughts on this?

 

[Sherman Banks]

^Much better! Did you use ANDS! method? I haven't tried it yet but it makes good sense.

 

[DScience]

For contrast edits I would first convert my image to the LAB-mode, and then add a Curve Adjustment Layer. In the Luminosity layer (which will be the first layer) add a simple S-curve (drag the line down on the left side, and drag it up on the left side) and bam - Instant-Contrast. You can also adjust for any underexposure in the luminosity panel. The reason this is BETTER than using a Levels adjustment in the RGB color space, is that in LAB, the luminosity ONLY affects the "brightness" values of the image - it will NOT touch the actual colors. RGB adjusts the color values in any layer mask you apply.

OMG!

This is an amazing tip! I thought I knew somewhat about the basics of PS, but I never knew you could adjust the contrast without touching the colors

 

[Clawed]

The only thing I can say is that the lens choice may not have been the best for a shot like this. It can create some distortion that is not exactly flattering.

Still not bad though, and maybe the distortion works okay here with a really tight crop.