#18 drop key

Benjer

How is this for Low Key? This is a crystal doorknob that literally fell off the handle to the floor, in a shaft of afternoon light. Kind of a "making lemonade from life's lemons" moment. What do you think???

Candid Arts

Cool shot, I don't really like the goldish tone it has though. maybe try a B&W? I think that's the only thing that is throwing it off for me. I like the shot otherwise.

Benjer

Candid Arts wrote:

Cool shot, I don't really like the goldish tone it has though. maybe try a B&W? I think that's the only thing that is throwing it off for me. I like the shot otherwise.

De-satch, right back atcha!



Looking at both, I really can't say which I like better. I actually kinda like the warm tones of the first, but maybe you can tell me what you're seeing that's throwing you off. Not to challenge you, I'm just hoping to see it better through your eyes...

Thanks for the feedback!

Candid Arts

Benjer wrote:

De-satch, right back atcha!

Looking at both, I really can't say which I like better. I actually kinda like the warm tones of the first, but maybe you can tell me what you're seeing that's throwing you off. Not to challenge you, I'm just hoping to see it better through your eyes...

Thanks for the feedback!

I dunno. It just seems like the WB is off a little bit, giving it that golden tone. Or... I dunno, when I think crystal, I don't expect to see golden tones, blue ish MAYBE...I think the back lighting shows off the detail and texture a little better in the B&W version (for me at least).

sweet caroline

Candid Arts wrote:

I dunno. It just seems like the WB is off a little bit, giving it that golden tone. Or... I dunno, when I think crystal, I don't expect to see golden tones, blue ish MAYBE...I think the back lighting shows off the detail and texture a little better in the B&W version (for me at least).

Well, I like the golden sunlight shining through the knob, and how it picks up the brown in the floor. It looks good in black and white, too, but I prefer the color for this one.

Caroline

Candid Arts

sweet caroline wrote:

Well, I like the golden sunlight shining through the knob, and how it picks up the brown in the floor. It looks good in black and white, too, but I prefer the color for this one.

Caroline

Looking at that, I do like the brown tones in the floor, but the golden-esque tones in the crystal still throw me off. So maybe split it? Crystal B&W and the rest in color? Maybe something like this?:



After doing this, I don't know how I feel about it. I really like the crystal in B&W, but I also like the floor in color, but I don't know how I feel about the combination...thoughts?

P.S. I hope you don't mind my editing...

Benjer

Candid Arts wrote:

After doing this, I don't know how I feel about it. I really like the crystal in B&W, but I also like the floor in color, but I don't know how I feel about the combination...thoughts?

P.S. I hope you don't mind my editing...

Hey - don't mind your edits at all! I appreciate your time. I'm thinking maybe I'll desaturate the whole thing a little, nudge in a cooler color temp. And I'm thinking that maybe it's actually the blue refractions in the glass (which I think it really is, rather than crystal) that's distracting and accentuating the gold tone. Let's see....

divamum

(We have those same doorknobs... and they fall off regularly. Worst was the time it fell off in my hand on the WRONG side of the bathroom door (fortunately the comedy of errors was merely logistical rather than more... uh... urgent, but even so - it was pretty funny and the potential-but-thankfully-not-the-case comedy even funnier!). Our solution after weeks of Removable Doorknobs (it was like something out of a Neil Simon play they started coming off so often): Loctite non-permanent. Our contractor/friend recommended this over new doorknobs and ... IT WORKS!! We can now wander through our home in a doorknob-tight environment.)

The shot. I like it! I like the colour one myself, fwiw

Benjer

Slightly desaturated...



is this getting closer?? and does this qualify as low key?

DeuceFour

I like the original colors!! I think its good as it was! Cool Shot!

Benjer

divamum wrote:

Our solution after weeks of Removable Doorknobs (it was like something out of a Neil Simon play they started coming off so often): Loctite non-permanent. Our contractor/friend recommended this over new doorknobs and ... IT WORKS!! We can now wander through our home in a doorknob-tight environment.

Funny! I'll try the Loctite idea - thanks dm! I love this forum - photo critiques AND home improvement tips!!! Now who wants to come help me finish out my (currently dirt floor) basement into a photo studio??? I'll supply the beer! :slosh Or we could skip the basement and get straight to the beer...???

divamum

+1 for desaturated, with my 2nd choice being the original.

I'll leave the expert witnesses to comment on what key it is - I've yet to see consistent definitions, so I don't presume to think I know much beyond "very dark" or "very bright"!

divamum

Benjer wrote:

Funny! I'll try the Loctite idea - thanks dm! I love this forum - photo critiques AND home improvement tips!!! Now who wants to come help me finish out my (currently dirt floor) basement into a photo studio??? I'll supply the beer! :slosh Or we could skip the basement and get straight to the beer...???

Bwaahahhaha... it's a deal.... as long as you'll come help me appropriate my husband's "book storage area" (read: shift a TON O' BOXES) to turn ours into the same :D:D:D

PS Do NOT use the "permanent" Loctite. Apparently too much of a good thing is a bad thing... Actually, because it's so much funnier than any paraphrase, I append here my contractor's note on the subject....

"Would your existing doorknobs please you a bit more if they stopped coming off? If so, I have the solution, Loc-Tite. For just a few dollars a small tube may last you a lifetime and you put it on the threads of screws, bolts, nuts, machine screws and whatever else has metal threads and put them together and they stay that way. It comes in different "consistencies" and I would avoid the one that says permanent because the others do the job well enough and better can be the enemy of the good."

Benjer

divamum wrote:

"...better can be the enemy of the good."

Love it! I'm gonna use that. Kinda fits the idea of post processing and the tendency to overdo it, eh?

Speaking of processing - Candid, what technique did you use to select just the glass knob for processing? I'm a caveman when it comes to PS and usually resort to using a tiny eraser to expose a processed layer below (can you cay "carpal tunnel?") The "magic wand" never works for me either, and I don't have a decent way to draw around an object.

Candid Arts

Benjer wrote:

Speaking of processing - Candid, what technique did you use to select just the glass knob for processing? I'm a caveman when it comes to PS and usually resort to using a tiny eraser to expose a processed layer below (can you cay "carpal tunnel?") The "magic wand" never works for me either, and I don't have a decent way to draw around an object.

Ok, I just learned this today in class, so I don't know the terminology of it all yet.

So you have a photo loaded into photo shop, it will look something like this.



Firstly I use the magnetic lasso tool to roughly outline what I want selected (in this case, the door knob). It's not going to make the outline perfect.

So, at that point I'll double click the "Edit in Quick Mask Mode" button. It is the button on the bottom of the tool bar that has a square with a circle in the middle. A small window will pop up that asks you to select either "Masked Areas" or "Selected Areas". Select Selected areas. Then OK. Click the button again and everything that is selected from the magnetic lasso tool will be covered in red.

From that point you'll want to select the paint brush tool and adjust the size as necessary. Zoom in to like 100% or so so you can get close to the edges of the object that you are trying to select. As you paint over the subject it will start to turn red. Anything that is covered in red will be selected. So if something is red that's not supposed to be, use the eraser tool to take away the red and there fore taking away your selection. Once you've got the entire subject you want to adjust covered in red, click the button with a square and a circle in it again. Now just the subject (again in this case the door knob) is selected.

From that point I go to image, adjustments then hue/saturation and just turn the master saturation all the way down. Now only that selection is B&W.

If you want to turn everything else B&W and leave the knob (or other selection) in color, once you have done everything you just did, go to Select, then Inverse and it'll switch to everything that you didn't originally select. Then make whatever adjustments you want at that point.

Hope all this helps.

Benjer

Candid Arts wrote:

Ok, I just learned this today in class, so I don't know the terminology of it all yet.
...

Hope all this helps.

wow - thanks a lot! awesome mini-lesson!

here's the latest version:

Candid Arts

Everyone else seems to like the color better. I'm still for the B&W. I don't know what. I like this shot, but some shots for me just belong in B&W and this is one of them. But by consensus, I think I'm wrong.

You're welcome for the mini lesson. Hope it helps and get's put to good use. I was pretty stoked to learn about that.

richtersl

Hmmm....the original color version is nice, but I rather like the most recent sepia version.

Benjer

Candid Arts wrote:

Everyone else seems to like the color better. I'm still for the B&W. I don't know what. I like this shot, but some shots for me just belong in B&W and this is one of them. But by consensus, I think I'm wrong.

You're welcome for the mini lesson. Hope it helps and get's put to good use. I was pretty stoked to learn about that.

Certainly there can be no "right" or "wrong" in matters of taste or art! And in art it's usually the less popular, or more challenging, direction that has the most integrity. In this case, is the popular choice the strongest image? It's my job as the "artist" to make that decision. And that's why everyone's feedback (and differing opinions) is so valuable - it helps me see things through different eyes, which after all is the point of photography, isn't it?

Trevlan

Candid Arts wrote:

Ok, I just learned this today in class, so I don't know the terminology of it all yet.

So you have a photo loaded into photo shop, it will look something like this.



Firstly I use the magnetic lasso tool to roughly outline what I want selected (in this case, the door knob). It's not going to make the outline perfect.

So, at that point I'll double click the "Edit in Quick Mask Mode" button. It is the button on the bottom of the tool bar that has a square with a circle in the middle. A small window will pop up that asks you to select either "Masked Areas" or "Selected Areas". Select Selected areas. Then OK. Click the button again and everything that is selected from the magnetic lasso tool will be covered in red.

From that point you'll want to select the paint brush tool and adjust the size as necessary. Zoom in to like 100% or so so you can get close to the edges of the object that you are trying to select. As you paint over the subject it will start to turn red. Anything that is covered in red will be selected. So if something is red that's not supposed to be, use the eraser tool to take away the red and there fore taking away your selection. Once you've got the entire subject you want to adjust covered in red, click the button with a square and a circle in it again. Now just the subject (again in this case the door knob) is selected.

From that point I go to image, adjustments then hue/saturation and just turn the master saturation all the way down. Now only that selection is B&W.

If you want to turn everything else B&W and leave the knob (or other selection) in color, once you have done everything you just did, go to Select, then Inverse and it'll switch to everything that you didn't originally select. Then make whatever adjustments you want at that point.

Hope all this helps.

This is really great, thanks for the lesson.

What I would recommend is making the selected area into a layer (Ctrl J). Then you can use your favorite black and white filter and have more control over the black and white than just dessaturation.

Trevlan

Benjer wrote:

wow - thanks a lot! awesome mini-lesson!

here's the latest version:

This is the one, nice work Ben.

JAG

Benjer wrote:

wow - thanks a lot! awesome mini-lesson!

here's the latest version:

My two cents are for this one!! My opinion when I saw the original and the b/w version is it doesn't look like glass...it looks like metal. But this one makes it more look like crystal glass.

Grly

I love your last edit!

Benjer

Grly wrote:

I love your last edit!

thanks! And thanks everyone for the constructive feedback - couldn't (or wouldn't) have gotten to this point without it.