Dad

[Marik]

Hi guys, Something just doesn't look right with this one, can someone point me in the right direction?

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/nick.harris/dan/dad.jpg

Dan

[CT]

The biggest problem Dan is he just aint sharp! :shrug:

Also brought the levels down a bit.

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/gallery/data/530/pater.jpg

[Marik]

Yeah I knew it wasn't sharp, applied the usual stuff, but my focusing must've be off slightly and the tie is uber :D

Cheers pal!

[Hoodi]

Second from the sharpness, the expression just aint that flattering or interesting. If this was a candid, keep on shootin' - a lot of candid stuff will be junk, but if you keep at it...
If it wasn't candid, don't be afraid to boss him about. At a basic level just get some eye contact & a cheesy grin going!
I do no accept any responsibility for beatings // evictions that may ensue from bossing him about!

[CT]

I agree with Hoodi there. Yousuf Karsh took this superb portrait of Churchill, allegedly by taking his cigar off him to obtain the expression. :D One of those stories that really ought to be true, but alas, I'm pretty sure it's just another urban legend.

http://www.soulcatcherstudio.com/images/Fav_show/Karsh.jpg

We all adopt a 'camera face' when suddenly confronted by a camera. Take plenty of shots until he starts to relax, or better still catch him unawares in a moment that really portrays him.

[Marik]

Ah fantastic advice, it was a candid, I only took the one, should of carried on shooting as you said realy.

Wicked advice chaps cheers!

[Janice]

His eyes arent looking into the camera..............and not looking far enough away if he wasnt meant to be (if that makes sense!) :thinking:

[Marik]

Yeah I know whatcha mean ;)

[h.r.ford]

CT,

When you sharpen it always makes such a difference. When I sharpen using unsharp mask it looks like nothing at all ever happened.... What in the world am I doing wrong???

[CT]

CT,

When you sharpen it always makes such a difference. When I sharpen using unsharp mask it looks like nothing at all ever happened.... What in the world am I doing wrong???

Well I use Paint Shop Pro which has three options.

1. Sharpen - a straight one-shot sharpen filter which is usually OK, doesn't oversharpen and sometimes needs a bit of USM in addition.

2. Sharpen More- usually too severe to be of much practical use as it almost always over-sharpens unless the original image is badly out of focus.

3. Unsharp Mask - this is really the best way to sharpen. I'm not sure where you're going wrong, but it's important that the sharpening parameters are properly set, and it's often better to apply USM several times in small amounts, until you just start to see sharpening halos and the 'pitiness' of over-sharpening, then just undo that last sharpen.

Hope that helps. I'm sure Matt has done a 'How To' on sharpening in CS2 if you have a look in Tutorials. :)