How to edit to get this color?

babygodzilla · January 15, 2011

Hi guys,

Wondering if someone can teach me how to get the color in the images below. I like that kinda yellow-tan skin-tone, while still looking vintage-ly natural. Every time I try something like this I can never get the results I want. I can never get my pictures to look as natural as these. Thanks for your help!

Thanks again!

Professional · January 15, 2011

Post your pics or shots you want the effects on and let us try to do something.

babygodzilla · January 15, 2011

Professional wrote: »

Post your pics or shots you want the effects on and let us try to do something.

Thanks. How bout these?

Thanks!

Dogdots · January 16, 2011

I look forward to seeing how this is done

Professional · January 16, 2011

I did 3 different editing, but i feel none are closer to those posts above, but i will try more if i will have time.

1.

2.

3.

babygodzilla · January 19, 2011

Thank you very much! How can I get as many people in on this? I'd like a lot of people to try, and would like to know their techniques.

Professional, can you explain what you did for each of the edits you did?

Thanks

babygodzilla · January 20, 2011

anyone else? please?

babygodzilla · January 21, 2011

no one wants to take a stab?

pathfinder · January 21, 2011

How would you go about it, godzilla?

Desaturation is an obvious step, particularly in the reds and blues. Try some curves and see how it comes out.

Dogdots · January 21, 2011

I've been playing with the one photo with the 3 people on it off and on since I saw this thread. I can't get it figured out. Wish I knew photoshop a whole lot more then I do

I've desaturated it .. even tried painting on the color and then changing the opacity .. that didn't turn out too well. Kinda had it. Even tried working it like a high key photo, but had problems with that. I've tried a slough of things.

To me the lighting in the photos along with the color inside the store really helped with the beginning process. I did notice in the 1st photo .. when you look at the reflection in the cupcake case .. the legs and clothing seem unaffected by the process. Could of been, but the legs and clothing seem to have more oomph to them along with a little less matte look to them. I could be seeing this all wrong tho.

Is there a software program that does this?

Pilznr · January 21, 2011

I gave it a shot, but couldn't get it to be exactly like those first 3 you posted. First of all, the first 3 photos you posted were taken with much different backgrounds and less color to begin with. They may have been a little on the over exposed side to get the brighter highlights, etc. If they were shot in RAW, you can manipulate color temp a lot easier. I think you might want to try starting with the photos you're shooting. Find a model and a space with a lot of light and neutral/white walls. You may find it easier to get results like that.

Here's the quick edit I did with Lightroom in about 90 seconds by adjusting saturation/vibrance, color temp, and hue/luminance.

davev · January 22, 2011

The shots are far to different to think that one style can be done to both sets and have them look the same.
The lighting of the first shots is artificial, your shots are in natural light.
I'm guessing that the other photographer 'may' have had some white balance issue, but instead of
trying to correct it, just went with it.

The colors of the clothing, walls, skin color in the first shots are all light colors, your shots have a lot of darks
and vibrant colors. Your asking us turn apple into an orange. That's pretty tough to do.

I took a quick stab at the one shot that has less color to it.
I loaded it into ACR, moved some sliders around, but I don't think I'm closer than anyone else.

My try.

Have you asked the photographer what they did for this shot?

tbaybucs · January 24, 2011

gave it a shot
I used topaz adjust not sure if it worked out right < shrug's shoulders >

babygodzilla · January 26, 2011

pathfinder wrote: »

How would you go about it, godzilla?

Desaturation is an obvious step, particularly in the reds and blues. Try some curves and see how it comes out.

I'm playing around with Split Toning and turning down Fill Light. Turning down fill light seems to smoothen skins a bit... or something... haha not sure. just kinda stabbing here and there!

babygodzilla · January 26, 2011

davev wrote: »

The shots are far to different to think that one style can be done to both sets and have them look the same.
The lighting of the first shots is artificial, your shots are in natural light.
I'm guessing that the other photographer 'may' have had some white balance issue, but instead of
trying to correct it, just went with it.

The colors of the clothing, walls, skin color in the first shots are all light colors, your shots have a lot of darks
and vibrant colors. Your asking us turn apple into an orange. That's pretty tough to do.

Have you asked the photographer what they did for this shot?

All good points! No I haven't asked the photog. Perhaps I should try that...

Thanks for your input!

anonymouscuban · January 26, 2011

babygodzilla wrote: »

I'm playing around with Split Toning and turning down Fill Light. Turning down fill light seems to smoothen skins a bit... or something... haha not sure. just kinda stabbing here and there!

Neither of those will do it. Pathfinder pointed you in a good direction. Did you try his suggestions?

BTW, I really like the way some post the edits they made without any explanation of how they did it. I'm sure that was very helpful.

babygodzilla · January 26, 2011

anonymouscuban wrote: »

Neither of those will do it. Pathfinder pointed you in a good direction. Did you try his suggestions?

BTW, I really like the way some post the edits they made without any explanation of how they did it. I'm sure that was very helpful.

Yes I saw his suggestions, thanks. I'm just trying anything I can think of. I haven't found anything close in Lightroom. Perhaps this is a higher-level Photoshopping?

pathfinder · January 26, 2011

I thought davev's suggestion in ACR was pretty interesting, and that is reproducible in Lightroom3 as well, since the RAW engine in ACR and LR3 are exactly the same engine with the same Sliders, even if the numbers they use are different.

Not sure why Adobe chose to use a different numbering scheme for RAW conversion in Lightroom than ACR, but they did......

Davev didn't display playing with the Hue and Saturation sliders that are in the second panel in ACR, but they are easily found in LR also..

anonymouscuban · January 26, 2011

BTW, now that I am looking at the original photos at home, I can almost guarantee these were done in Photoshop using a couple of the actions included in the Totally Rad Action set. Take a look at their site and you'll see.

EDIT... OK, guarantee is probably a little strong but I have all their actions and I know of a combo of two of their actions will produce this look almost identically.

zoomer · January 26, 2011

Add yellow and reduce contrast for the first two.
Add yellow and increase black point for the third one.

Eddy · January 29, 2011

The temperature seems a bit high or is that the norm..

travischance · February 2, 2011

babygodzilla wrote: »

Thanks. How bout these?

Thanks!

Added contrast to boost shadow areas
Image / Adjustments / Saturation to around -50
Image / Adjustments / Photo Filter
Color caa36b @ 52% density
Image / Mode / Lab Color
Channels / Lightness / Filter / Sharpen / Unsharp Mask at 65%, 4.0 pixesl & 3 Levels on the threshold

While not exactly the color as the examples you posted, this should get you in the neighborhood. I hope this helps.

stevenrecords · February 4, 2011

They are doing two different solid color layers of the same color. First desaturated a bit. Use this hex #e1ca8b and on one change the blending option to color mode and on the other to soft light. Lower the opacity on both and then do some curves.

racer · February 4, 2011

Like was said, totally matching that look wont necessarily work for the photos you posted, as the subject is different. The originals, the look works because the subjects have dark hair. If there hair was a light color as with the guy with the fruit, the whole person ends up looking totally washed out.
Regardless, this is very easy to replicate in photoshop following a few key steps
The look seems to be desaturated, over exposed, with a red hue added overtop.
I would start by loading it into Camera raw, adjusting the exposure, lowering the saturation, and raising the vibrance to compensate, up the fill light to wash out the shadows, then as a final step tweak the white balance.
Next load it into photoshop and make a photo filter adjustment layer. Now open one of the photos you are trying to copy. In the photo you want to copy the look of, choose the eye dropper tool, set the sample size to 3x3 or larger, and pick the color you want to copy over to the other photo. Switch over to the other photo, and use that color to set the color for your adjustment layer. You should end up with a pretty close match with the color overlay, but like was said, a exact make of the look doesn't necessarily look very good

original to compare

I think you will get much better results if you try to come up with your very own washed out look. I think you would especially want to save the shadows in the guys face, as it really shows off his facial expression, and I would try to bring out the saturation in the fruit, I way over overdid it in this photo, but is a example of the type of look I would go for

racer · February 4, 2011

travischance wrote: »

Added contrast to boost shadow areas

:wow I think you might have added just a tad to much contrast :wow

(*goes to get a pair of sun glasses*)

insanefred · February 6, 2011

I am not a PP guru but just for fun...

babygodzilla · February 8, 2011

Thanks a lot guys for all your suggestions!

I've learned a lot just from this thread. Playing with Saturation definitely helps a lot. I'm trying out Split Toning as well and see where that takes me!

babygodzilla · February 19, 2011

continuing on this thread, on a similar topic, Sean Flanigan from Seattle is one of my favorite photographers. I can't explain his photographs. To say "vintage" is far from accurate. I think the colored pictures are sometimes flat, desaturated. While his black and whites have high contrast? In any case, many elements in his pictures almost blend in with each other. Skin blends in with wall. in B&W pics, there is no black nor white. Everything is a shade of gray. What do you guys think? Can you guys explain these pictures better in English?

For example, in the following picture look how the woman's skin color almost blends in with the wall. How do you explain that?

Black and white, except everything is neither black nor white. Just gray. Grayscale?

Anyone know how to explain the following pic on the left? I feel like there is a back-lighting or glare effect, but the front side is also lighted? I've seen a few pics like these but have never been able to reproduce it. Do you backlight the subject and then overexpose the background?

Lastly, I feel like a lot of his blurs aren't natural. For example in the following pic the guys' top half are focused (i think?) yet their feet are very blurred. Is that natural? I feel like it's not.

Same thing in the following pic. The lady's top half and the grass behind her head are focused. Yet everything else are out of focus. Doesn't look natural at all to me. I wonder how...

OK thanks! Share your thoughts!

oldoval · February 20, 2011

I can't add much to your search for knowledge....good luck. But that second shot with the eyelashes is AWESOME.

babygodzilla · February 20, 2011

Thanks! Yeah great shots right? Any input on how they're done? Comments? Guesses?

BinaryFx · February 20, 2011

These focus effects can be done in post or at capture.

In post, using a filtered layer and a gradated or otherwise edited layer mask.

Or at capture using a tilt shift lens, lensbaby etc.

Regards,

Stephen Marsh

http://binaryfx.customer.netspace.net.au/ (coming soon!)
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~binaryfx/
http://prepression.blogspot.com/