Two parade reposts

[holyoutlaw]

I read in pdn an off-hand comment about opening up the shadows of a photo without blowing out the highlights. And I thought, d'oh!, I shoulda remembered that. So, here are Cousin Kenny 2 and Musician 2.

Cousin Kenny 2


Musician 2


Both: Fremont, Seattle
June, 2008

Now to find a couple pictures that were too shadowy before. Hah!

Comments

[farmgirl1146.livejournal.com]

I don't understand what is meant by "opening up the shadows of a photo without blowing out the highlights". What were they like before?

[holyoutlaw.livejournal.com]

Here (http://pics.livejournal.com/holyoutlaw/pic/001y0f68/s640x480) is the original Cousin Kenny photo, and here (http://pics.livejournal.com/holyoutlaw/pic/001y4t3w/s640x480) is the original Musician photo.

The highlights, in Cousin Kenny's case, were the towel on his head and the right shoulder of his t-shirt. His face was heavily shadowed due to being back lit. I was able to open up the shadows without turning the towel or the t-shirt shoulder into a solid mass of white (well, more than they were already.

Is this helpful?

[liveavatar.livejournal.com]

Okay, now I get what you did; thanks for the description.

I have to admit that I prefer the bluish shade of white in the previous Cousin Kenny photo, but yeah, the shadows are better in the second one.

The overall cast of the photo is warmer in the second picture -- is that part of the shadow-opening process or something you decided on during the remake?

[holyoutlaw.livejournal.com]

I actually don't see the color cast as being overall warmer in the second set. I think, as you say, it's a part of the shadow-opening process; more skin tones have come out.

I didn't go very far down in the remake -- that is, I didn't reopen the RAW files and reconvert. I just added a step right before sharpening (which is usually my last step).

[liveavatar.livejournal.com]

Just checked again -- on this computer/monitor, at least, I get more of a purply blue cast in the original photo overall. But that could be inherent in my monitor settings.

[farmgirl1146.livejournal.com]

I see what you mean. The Cousin Kenny picture is most dramatic, while the features of the Musician are so much more distinct.

Thanks for directing me to the original pictures. I had looked for them, but got lost in too many posts.

[holyoutlaw.livejournal.com]

I should have included links to the original posts in this post. My apologies.