50's Shoot... Take a Look

Katmitchell

OK, BLAH................this is not working like I thought it would.. I mean the shoot will be great for the portfolio and the client will love the way his place has been surveyed with a camera, but there is just not the kind of shots I need from this for a Black and white conversion contest..

I think it just looks like photos I took of a business... that's not enough impact for me... well not for a contest anyways.. I think, I will stick to the artistic endeavors instead like the angel or something like it for the contest.. Still you guy were great support and I thought I would share them anyways..

The good of it, is that I networked, and if this guys likes the photos of his business, well he is connected in town and hopefully I can garner some referrals..

Second: I learned a powerful lesson in light yet "again"

You will notice were and why I struggled with these... the highly reflective walls and the floor.. and the sun blasting through the windows and reflecting off of everything.... I wanted a super black and white checker floor shot, but the "problem" is that when I pump the white in the floor up it blows out the silver walls.. Yes, I know I can mask and then do that, but it is turning out to be a pain and they look really good in color and in color, I don't have that problem...

So... here are some of them... off to wrack my brain on what to do next.. so far, the angel is in the gallery..

Here they are enjoy!:thumb:thumb:thumb



If I were to consider one: this would probably be it..





second process same one
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MarkR

Try cropping the table out of the 1st or 2nd one -- just crop from the bottom. I think it would be a visually cleaner experience.

Katmitchell

HI Mark
Hey , like this?

MarkR

Katmitchell wrote:

Hey , like this?

Approximately like that, although I think that might be a little too much. I just found the table distracting.

Katmitchell

Better?

MarkR

Katmitchell wrote:

anonymouscuban

Kat...

Of all of them, I like the stools the best. Also fits the theme the best. Can you maybe crop in a bit tighter on the first stool.... maybe crop out a bit of the counter top? Also, I like the high contrast... works for this series, but can you pull just a little detail in the shadows behind the chairs. Lastly, the photo seems a bit skewed to the right, but that may just be me. Too many hours of looking at pictures of myself is making see cross-eyed!!!

anonymouscuban

BTW, I also like the one just below the Coke sign. I really like the composition in this one. I like the way the eye wanders around in the image and the lines the lights and booths create.

Katmitchell

Thanks Alex..

Ya know, now that you mentioned it, I think it is skewed, falling to the right.. my eyes hurt too.. from looking at high contrast black and white all night and day... I miss color....:cry

so.. I will work on the suggestions you gave.. even if I don't enter these into the contest.. I still need to make them right for the folio and for the client, so I appreciate your help...!!!thumb

Kat

whiterice

LOVE the stools Kat....they look great against the tiled floor. This looks so good in b/w.

Kinkajou

whiterice wrote:

LOVE the stools Kat....they look great against the tiled floor. This looks so good in b/w.

Stools all the way! ...and it works for the challenge. Personally, I like this shot better than the angel shot.

Katmitchell

Thank You
Thanks white rice and Kinkajou..

Here is another version based on Alex's suggestions..

Now I did lose the reflection on the floor by dodging and burning the floor this way to achieve a higher contrast.. but what do you think?

Alex? is this what you meant?


I think I created a kind of optical illusion here on the floor, either that, or it really is time to give my eyes a break..
Thanks
Kat


:D:D

whiterice

Oh my gosh, I am getting dizzy!!

I think you're right about the optical illusion. Without the shadows, the front stools seem to be floating.

And I miss the pizza sign! :cry

Just my non-expert opinion.

Katmitchell

:lol4:haha uh oh... maybe I should attach a warning label..?

I agree I miss the pizza sign too...

bf2015

Kat...Kat...Kat... :smack

You know what they say...The hardest critic to impress is ourselves.

I think they all look wonderful! And I agree completely with Kinkajou! The stools work for this contest and your shots of them WORK! You did a superb job with the latest one. What's it look like uncropped? I think the counter directs the eye down the entire photo (which I like!). If you still want some of the shadows for the chairs, use the exposure brush tool in Camera Raw. Either way, I think it works better than the angel.

I know what you mean about looking at a photo too long. :devbobo I think I was complaining about the same thing last contest. So take a break and come back to them.

All-in-all, I think you got the shot and now have something for the contest!

Katmitchell

Thanks Brian...

well yes,, you could say I am real hard on my own work... thanks for the vote of confidence.. I will try to bring back the pizza sign and the counter.. I am beginning to agree on that....

I have no clue what you are talking about when you say exposure brush...

I have always opened in RAW editor and then did my adjustments and then finished in PS main frame... how do I get an image to open back up in the RAW editor again once I have saved it to a PSD? I have never tired that before..

P.S. Man the angels sure are a hard sell on this group... haha.. I figured out how to shot all (3) so gonna give that, and one other thing that I already set up for a try tonight.. if those do not garner votes... then looks like I may enter this one instead of the angel that is up there now...

Thank you very much for the comments....

Kat

bf2015

You can't open a .psd in RAW. Save it to TIFF and then OPEN AS: RAW. In the bridge you should be able to RIGHT-CLICK on the TIFF and it gives you the option to open in raw. I use PS CS4 and in raw right next to the red-eye tool at the top is a brush icon. This brush lets you spot expose where ever you use it. You can select the exposure from like -5 up to +5 in 0.25 increments and you can set the brightness/contrast/sharpness/color/saturation etc. And you can feather etc.. It is really a powerful tool.

.psd files hold all of your history, however, it's not lossless unlike a TIFF file (that's the only thing with TIFF (no history)). Camera Raw will open RAW, DNG, JPG, and TIFF files.

Katmitchell

very helpful Brian... I have never done it that way.. thank you very much... I had no idea I had the option to return to the RAW editor..bow


that exposure brush sounds like a dream.. I have just been using select and then exposure adjustment... this will be much faster for the tiny detail jobs..


Kat

divamum

Love the stools. Have you tried a crop which takes some off the l.h. side and heads towards square? I'm thinking of approximately to the wire rack at the back. Just a thought.

Great shots!!!

nightpixels

divamum wrote:

Love the stools. Have you tried a crop which takes some off the l.h. side and heads towards square? I'm thinking of approximately to the wire rack at the back. Just a thought.

Great shots!!!

Those are exactly the suggestions I was gonna give you. Nice series of shots, well done thumb

Katmitchell

I.H. ??? I am confused... I don't get what you guys mean... please explain.. I will do that and post that option too later this week..

Thank you both for the nice comments..:D

Kat

divamum

Katmitchell wrote:

I.H. ??? I am confused... I don't get what you guys mean... please explain.. I will do that and post that option too later this week..

Thank you both for the nice comments..:D

Kat

Left Hand side....(I used a lower case "L", not an "I" )

Katmitchell

ooooooooohhhhhhh... ok I get it now.. thanks.... yes, I experimented with that a little...

When I do that I lose the pizza sign and I am working right now on putting that back.. but I will post a version of both to get a vote... it may turn out a neat result...

thanks again.

Kat

Katmitchell

New Crop and Pizza Sign Put Back In
ok, never mind.. I see what you mean,, right up to the pizza sign...

ok.. got it.. I am revamping the process.. so this is not finished, I am working on this now.. I took the floor contrast back out for now, however, I used this one to test what you and Allen are saying..

Here it is.. what do you think?

anonymouscuban

Love this crop latest crop. I think you nailed it.

bf2015

Katmitchell

Wow, isn't it something how you can take suggestions and fix things so fast..

You all are awesome..

Nothing like putting our minds together.. thanks everyone...

Now, if someone can post a (miracle) solution on how to fix that horrible....... blast of light on the counter, IOU..lust

I have tried the exposure adjustment only to come up with grey and more washed grey... I think I will have to open the original RAW and under expose it and then patch it in on this one with layers? I dunno...dunno

Katmitchell

oh,, one more question... should I take the shadows out on the floor like I did on the one in the last post? and super charge contrast the floor again in this one?

you will notice on this latest one, I fattened up the metal on the stools by taking out the shadows behind them.. I like that effect, but what about the floor?

I need to be picked on here.... anything else you might notice?

bf2015

Katmitchell wrote:

Wow, isn't it something how you can take suggestions and fix things so fast..

You all are awesome..

Nothing like putting our minds together.. thanks everyone...

Now, if someone can post a (miracle) solution on how to fix that horrible....... blast of light on the counter, IOU..lust

I have tried the exposure adjustment only to come up with grey and more washed grey... I think I will have to open the original RAW and under expose it and then patch it in on this one with layers? I dunno...dunno

I think there is an action that might help you fix the "blast" you're talking about. It's an awesome Dodge/Burn action:

http://www.atncentral.com/zip/Dodge_Burn.zip

The website is www.atncentral.com

nightpixels

Great job Kat! However, I really do wish that the shelves and the whole shebang in the background were a bit less distracting. I dunno, maybe blur them some more? It is obviously a personal choice.

Katmitchell

Thanks for the link Brian.. going to study that now..:D

Allen.. thank you for that suggestion.. I have alien skin bokeh,, so that should not be a problem to offer up a version with a bokeh background.. will post the revisions tomorrow..

Thanks Guys...thumb

Kat