a pop of red... family series

MissB

This was taken at sully plantation in Chantilly VA. CC much appreciated..entire shoot was done with my canon xsi and 50mm 1.8..thanks in advance!

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jeffreaux2

2, 3 ,9, 15 and 16 are all winners!!!

2 and 3 could use a bit more warmth...but are both lovely images.

MissB

thank you.. and I agree about the warmth!

adbsgicom

Pretty much the same as Jeff, 3, 4, 9, 15, 16.
Nice work.

goldilocksandmy3bears

I love how that red just really stands out!

Elaine

These are darling! Agree about a few needing some warmth, but you got some super cute captures here!

cr8ingwaves

seeing these makes me excited about getting my own 50mm to play with.

nice series.

Agnieszka

Oh CUTENESS! I don't have much to ad, just wanted to say that the photos are adorable

kidzmom

LOVE em! My favs are 3,4,5, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 16. The whole family series are great!!! And those 2 kiddos are goregous. GREAT colors...working with red is hard. You did a super job. Can I ask what your EXIF was for the family shots with the 50....more particularly your aperture on those and distance from subjects. THANKS for sharing!

divamum

What a great series, Miss B. I agree with the comments about adding some warmth, but love your "edgy" processing on 5 in particular - whaddya do on that one?

Is this the new 50d?

MissB

thank you everyone!! I've been shooting safely at 2.8 and adjusting my shutter and iso.. it wasn't consistant because it was later in the day and I had to adjust frequently for the approaching dusk. It was very overcast at about 4:00...so the natural lighting was cool to begin with.

As far as the edgy processing .. i've learned a technique of creating a gradient map of cream and dark blue.. and adding that layer as "soft light" it brightens it and adds a unique haze of blue and cream. Anyway.. thank you again for the feedback.

divamum

MissB wrote:

As far as the edgy processing .. i've learned a technique of creating a gradient map of cream and dark blue.. and adding that layer as "soft light" it brightens it and adds a unique haze of blue and cream. Anyway.. thank you again for the feedback.

OOO!! How do you create the gradient map - do you have a link to a tutorial, or would you be willing to explain? Thanks!!

BriShay

great shots!

MissB

thank you!! and yes I'd be happy to do a tutorial this week for how to create a gradient map

Darren Troy C

WOW....wOw.....and WoW !! !! How did I miss this until now ???? Fantastic series and #16 is just about the most precious thing I think I have ever seen!

ivar

Oh wow, these are too cute! especially 9 Very nice set, I'm sure they loved it

MissB

thank you!!! I will work on the gradient map video tomorrow...

divamum

MissB wrote:

thank you!!! I will work on the gradient map video tomorrow...

Hey, no need for anything more than an explanation - don't feel you have to do put that much work into it! I've just been unable to find the technique anywhere and LOVE the results you got

Caspian

Nice shots. I agree with the other comments and have the same faves as the others. I love the deep blue eyes in 8. The family shots could be a little tighter. I too would love an explanation of the gradient map. Thanks in advance for the tutorial.

Gary752

Very nice series! If I was the parents of those adorable kids, I'd have #9 hanging on the wall in a heartbeat! I'll have to watch for your tutorial on how you processed these.

GaryB

MissB

gradient map tutorial
Ok so here is my attempt to show you how to edit using a gradient map.. a few of the actions I use during this tutorial i've gotten from...coffee shop actions at www.coffeeteaphotography.blogspot.com

I hope this is helpful
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVmRwLQSyK4

missB

Mitchell

#5

I'm loving it!!!!

divamum

SO nice of you to do that, MissB! (and LOVE the sample shot you were using - such great colours!) I have only one remaining question: how do you get those colour gradient maps? I don't have any of them in my existing selections, and I can't figure out how to make one (or even what colours would work if I did). Any ideas? I use CS3 and have been trying to figure this out to no avail!

Also, thanks for reminding me to go to Coffee Cup - haven't been there since I became an action addict, so big thanks for that AND for Perfect Portrait - what a great set of tools!

ETA: And the way you added/enhanced catchlights - holy cow, why didn't I think of that before? So simple... so effective

dychui

Lovely captures. Other than a couple photos near the bottom where I thought the post-processing was a bit too contrasty, I don't think I would change a thing. With regards to adding warmth, I don't think it's necessary... the red outfits contrast very well with the overall colder tones and I like it

Keep up the great work. I wish we had classic places like that to shoot here in Northern California.

MissB

divamum wrote:

SO nice of you to do that, MissB! (and LOVE the sample shot you were using - such great colours!) I have only one remaining question: how do you get those colour gradient maps? I don't have any of them in my existing selections, and I can't figure out how to make one (or even what colours would work if I did). Any ideas? I use CS3 and have been trying to figure this out to no avail!

Also, thanks for reminding me to go to Coffee Cup - haven't been there since I became an action addict, so big thanks for that AND for Perfect Portrait - what a great set of tools!

ETA: And the way you added/enhanced catchlights - holy cow, why didn't I think of that before? So simple... so effective

thank you!! I use PSE7 so im not sure off hand but I found this link to tell you how to find it on CS3 http://livedocs.adobe.com/en_US/Photoshop/10.0/help.html?content=WSfd1234e1c4b69f30ea53e41001031ab64-763f.html

with use of soft light the darker color.. IE: Left side of the gradient map...darkens the lowlights...and the right side of the gradient..amps up the high lights... soooo... I'd pick a color scheme that fits your portrait.. if you want something warmer.. go with browns , yellows, tans...(IE: chocolate and light tan... Navy and light yellow..etc. etc.) If you want a cooler contrast.. go with Navy and white.. Black and white... Navy and lt. Blue... etc. etc.. then apply the adjustment soft light...and play with the "opacity bar" to get the right intensity.

I hope that helps you

kres

Thank you Miss B! That Gradient map trick is wonderful. I've been struggling with trying to get enough pop and contrast off of an intentional "over exposed" shot for awhile now. What I was doing was not looking as good, and taking a lot longer.

This cleared a bit of a log jam for me. Mucho thanks!

divamum

Well, I never could find the same default gradients you have (the ones in CS3 are completely different), but I DID finally figure out how to make my own - I start with an existing one, and then tweak the colours it uses. I haven't quite matched your contrast-enhancement blue/cream, but I HAVE figured out how to use different colours to warm/cool a picture in a way that simply looks like the light was different rather than a "tint" per se. It's awesome!!!

MissB

youre welcome..it was hard to get it just right but once you do save it!!! lol. Here is a link http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.jessett.com/web_sites/graphics/photoshop/graphics/gradient_map.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.jessett.com/web_sites/graphics/photoshop/gradient_map_tutorial.shtml&usg=__dbOvEgOE-BpW3ttCqYC9uUwC8VQ=&h=386&w=432&sz=36&hl=en&start=3&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=LRXltC7FtI5T6M:&tbnh=113&tbnw=126&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dcs3%2Bgradient%2Bmap%26hl%3Den%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:en-us%26rlz%3D1I7SKPB_en%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1
to a screen shot where you can find the gradient map in CS3.. how do you like that program btw?? Im a little recluctant to give up my PSE7...(IE: photoshop for dummies..lol) as I have just started to master my work flow.

Any insight as to how the CS photoshops might be a better choice????

divamum

Welll, here's what I came up with (changing colours is actually easy in CS3 once you realise which of the symbols on the slider to click... just took me a while to figure that out, and also which way round the slider was set up, ie foreground vs background)

In any case:

Here's the gm I used:


Without gradient:


With

JohnEBongo

Hey MissB, great shots. 5 and 11 are my favorites. I also really like your PP on all of them. Sully Plantation looks like like a great place shoot. Another great place close to there is Cabells Mill, in Centreville. I recently did a shoot with my 2 kids there. If you are interested, you can see them at

http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/214315_KhKCE#719057627_rWp4b

Take Care...........John

MissB

divamum wrote:

Welll, here's what I came up with (changing colours is actually easy in CS3 once you realise which of the symbols on the slider to click... just took me a while to figure that out, and also which way round the slider was set up, ie foreground vs background)

In any case:

Here's the gm I used:


Without gradient:


With

that looks great!!!!!! good job!