Get the most in post - Toning, B&W

Andy

hello everyone,


one of the things i try to do when photographing architecture is to "stay away from the ordinary" as much as possible. and it's the very first thing i cover when taking a new group out in new york.

let's take a look at the guggenheim museum - a building known by sight around the world. here's the original shot, and the scene as it looked:



pretty blah, and plain, and it could be one of 10,000 nyc vacation photos. not much you can do at the scene, you are subject to the weather, the light (sun) the traffic, pedestrians, construction, and of course, the condition of the building (they need to work on the facade).

so, i could settle for this shot, and put it in my architecture gallery, or i could get some inspiration from this collection of post-processing tips:

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1009&message=7987678

and try to make something memorable, and something that my friends back home would say *wow* too..



i like the result, though i could play with it for hours more, i stopped here. you may or may not like this particular result - and that's what's so great about our art - first and foremost *you* the artist must like it. secondly, if you don't like it one way, you can use the techniques in post to modify it slightly and suit your individual taste or style. as an example, one of the *drafts* of this photo i made earlier today had the entire scene really super-high key, i was thinking about the challenge... but i really didn't like the result so i went back to what i'm presenting here.

in post: using adjustment layers for all steps, converted to b&w (*) and then various building repairs (i don't have my union card, so please don't tell!) with the clone and healing brushes. some levels and masking, contast and masking, and finally a toning layer (**) applied with an opacity of 22% to give it a slight bit of monochromatic color.

(*) summary of the b&w techniques is here:
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1009&message=7475823

(**) toning in post explained here:
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1009&message=7823308

enjoy (getting the most out of post) photography,

cletus

As usual Andy... outstanding stuff!

wxwax

You know what I like, Andy? It's not just that you create great images. It's that you're extremely generous in sharing how you did it. Thanks mate, this is great stuff and a real help for anyone who wants to improve their skills!

lynnma

wxwax wrote:

You know what I like, Andy? It's not just that you create great images. It's that you're extremely generous in sharing how you did it. Thanks mate, this is great stuff and a real help for anyone who wants to improve their skills!

Here here Andy, thanks so much, wonderful shot, gives me hope and inspiration.

lynnma

lynnma wrote:

Here here Andy, thanks so much, wonderful shot, gives me hope and inspiration.

Ya know?? I wrote this before I looked at your post processing link? and after looking at those pictures I'm now convinced you are a genius. Thanks so much for sharing.
Lynn:cry (I'm moved to tears..)

lynnma

HI Andy... I've been playing with your picture of the cop and trying to re-create your finished product... (good job you'll never see it). I'm o.k. until I get to blurring the background and sharpening the cop using a usm and a layer mask. Sorry to be dense but whats a usm? are you lassoing the background to select it and then blurring? or are you blurring then erasing the cop? then how are you sharpening the cop alone, just with a tool? or just painstakingly selecting him... I'm desperate to know.

Thanks
Lynn

Andy

i would tell but then i'd have to k*** you

hehe seriously, it's really a cinch. i don't lasso anything. when you are ready for blur, you ctrl-j to copy the background and then apply the blur to the whole copied layer. now add a layer mask. simply use a soft edged brush to brush over the areas you *dont* want blurred (the cop). as you near the edges, use progressively smaller brushes. voila!

lynnma wrote:

HI Andy... I've been playing with your picture of the cop and trying to re-create your finished product... (good job you'll never see it). I'm o.k. until I get to blurring the background and sharpening the cop using a usm and a layer mask. Sorry to be dense but whats a usm? are you lassoing the background to select it and then blurring? or are you blurring then erasing the cop? then how are you sharpening the cop alone, just with a tool? or just painstakingly selecting him... I'm desperate to know.

Thanks
Lynn

lynnma

andy wrote:

i would tell but then i'd have to k*** you

hehe seriously, it's really a cinch. i don't lasso anything. when you are ready for blur, you ctrl-j to copy the background and then apply the blur to the whole copied layer. now add a layer mask. simply use a soft edged brush to brush over the areas you *dont* want blurred (the cop). as you near the edges, use progressively smaller brushes. voila!

I had a hunch thats what it was... now I'll go and ruin the rest of your cop dispose of him properly and then go and ruin some of my own.
thanks again Andy.
Lynn
p.s.

Baldy

Man, that post was so great I rated it 5 stars and then realized our stars are lame. So I made up some different stars so we can actually see the difference between a thread with a high rating and one without.

Andy

Baldy wrote:

Man, that post was so great I rated it 5 stars and then realized our stars are lame. So I made up some different stars so we can actually see the difference between a thread with a high rating and one without.

wow thanks oh great bald one

ps: sorry abt the broken links at the end of my post - i fixed them and now you can see the b&w thread and the toning in post thread. oy i'm so sorry.