Tried new technique

[tom.ganc]

Hi
Today I was editing one of my daughters pictures and I was using curves mainly in cs3. I think that's the way to go in the future. I'm very pleased with results.
Tell me what you think please

Thanks

 

[maulrat]

Great photo. Sharp and colorful. Me likes, me likes =)

 

[Big Mike]

Good tones and contrast. I think the whites could stand be a tiny bit brighter though.

 

[AlexColeman]

Very nice, how did you shoot it?

 

[Nix725]

Can you describe how you did the new technique? I am interested.

 

[prodigy2k7]

Did you edit her eyes? They are amazing!

 

[tom.ganc]

Hi
Thanks for all comments.
Let me point out quickly what I did.
1. You need to brighten image (or different parts of it) using curves and mask it. Lets say you want to get the eyes nicer so you need to bump up brightness using curves and then hide everything except eyes behind the mask)
2. Using selective colour you can improove some eyes details and mas it similar to no1
3. Then using curves again I increased contrast slightly (again with correct masking)
4. I did little sharpening on her face (nothing big) just to some more details.

There is no simple way of doing it. Each picture is different and needs many tries. But never use sharpening only to get details out of the eyes (picture needs to be sharp before you start any work). It will cause some noise and quality will be average.
Take look on this picture. That's where I started.

I hope it helped

 

[roentarre]

Simply gorgeous look. Excellent glare in the eyes!

 

[bdavis]

Great photo, still think it needs more saturation or brightness though