How do I bring out the ooomph?

dmcaloney

dmcaloney

Messages
289
Name
Dave
Edit My Images
Yes
Fairly happy with the pic, although she might not be :) but seems a bit flat to me...

any tips on making the picture more 'punchy'? (done the usual levels, vibrance, saturation stuff on PS)... sadly just shot on a grey day :(

jkknk6.jpg
 
Last edited:
The light is very flat and the background distracting. I too tried to boost things but it doesn't look quite right
 
Cheers Jim, me too. Looks like one of them I may just have to put down to conditions / place :(
 
As above, I think because the light is so flat, you're gonna struggle to get any pop. It also looks slightly OOF on my monitor.
 
convertion to B&W increase levels and contrast a bit??

Les :D

I downloaded the image into PS CS5 and it looks a lot more punchier
 
Decided to have a quick go in photoshop with it.
A few curve adjustment layers masked on and then a bit of the burn tool..
 
Last edited:
dmcaloney said:
Fairly happy with the pic, although she might not be :) but seems a bit flat to me...

any tips on making the picture more 'punchy'? (done the usual levels, vibrance, saturation stuff on PS)... sadly just shot on a grey day :(
Click to expand...

No alternative in this situation to a bit of dodge and burn - no need for complex masking, just dodge the highlights a bit and burn in the shadows. If the tools are set suitably you dont have to worry too much about edges.

Quality of the downsized example posted is too low, but give it a try anyway. You can blur the various background objects a bit using the selective blur tool.
 
tim.allen said:
It also looks slightly OOF on my monitor.
Click to expand...

Same here. There also appears to be a red colour cast, although I'm using a work monitor and I'm guessing her top may not be helping with that.

B&W is probably the way to go, perhaps a grainy effect to try and hide the focus issue?
 
Cheers for the pointers folks. I am not sure of the site rules etc but personally I have no problem with people posting edited versions.
 
Last edited:
Sorry, do you mean you have a problem or don't have a problem with people editing your images? I'm guessing former as you have box crossed.

If you want your portraits to pop you ideally need a combination of things. The background needs to be either out of focus to blur out any distractions or under exposed compared to the subject and ideally both!
 
I have done an edit, which looks better.
Darkened background, lighten face, warmed up face, saturation on pink clothing, contrast boost (using red channel for masks) in curves.
 
dmcaloney said:
Cheers for the pointers folks. I am not sure of the site rules etc but personally I have no problem with people posting edited versions.
Click to expand...

you need to tick the edit box then we can show you our edits and tell you what we done...
 
Thanks Chaz... didnt realise it was there and just spent 15 mins trying to find it lol.

Happy to see peoples edits if they want to post.
 
Cheers Chaz. Definitely brought out some of the colour, but not sure if its my monitor or is there an overly green tinge?

Thanks for the layers info though. Gives me something to play with.
 
I'm not seeing much wrong with this at all Dave. The biggest issue is it needs a good sharpen which will lift it a bit, but it looks like it was dull light or taken in shadow anyway. I think boosting the saturation would be a mistake - you have good natural skin tones as it is and the background is virtually mono anyway.

I gave it a sharpen, and boosted the contrast and highlights very slightly, but personally I wouldn't overdo it.


jkknk6-edit by tonky8203, on Flickr
 
Kid1.jpg
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I'm with CT on this, far too easy to way over do the PP on this.
Just a saturation boost and sharpen, with auto levels

jkknk61.jpg
 
Last edited by a moderator:
A very experienced photographer and truly gifted user of Photoshop said at our club night a few weeks ago. Post processing will never make a bad shot good it can only make a good shot better.

No offence to Dave but that appears to hold true in this case.

Mark.
 
Hey Dave!
I have to agree with the comments that the lighting is not very good and it doesn't look that sharp to me too. I had a quick go in Photoshop and here is my try:

jkknk6%252520copy.jpg


I had tried to create a bit of a contrast between the girl and the background, boost the colours a bit and make her eyes and teeth pop. I did not boost the correction on her top that much because it is way too overexposed on the left side of the photo.

I hope you like it.

Regards,

Rayna
 
30 seconds in Lightroom got this:

jkknk6-4.jpg


the file was corrupted when I downloaded it! Very strange - but you get the idea.
 
Last edited:
my go :)

girl.jpg
 
dmcaloney said:
Cheers Chaz. Definitely brought out some of the colour, but not sure if its my monitor or is there an overly green tinge?

Thanks for the layers info though. Gives me something to play with.
Click to expand...

no green here on calibrated monitor
 
Here is my original edit which i took down, but thought I would add it to the list of edits :)
I added a vignette, blurred the background a touch, corrected the red color in the face and did some adjustments with a few curves layers to add a bit of punch to the colors.

5786441081_4fa20af212_o.jpg
 
Cheers for the edits folks. Good to see the different flavour people put on the pic.

On my works PC but on here the most natural edit seems to be Kipax's attempt.

Can you just give me a summary if you dont mind Kipax on how you got there? Many thanks.
 
iPhoto said:
A very experienced photographer and truly gifted user of Photoshop said at our club night a few weeks ago. Post processing will never make a bad shot good it can only make a good shot better.

No offence to Dave but that appears to hold true in this case.

Mark.
Click to expand...

You aren't a subscriber to one of the photojournalist tumbler sites I read recently then ;)

In fact, with Photoshop, a seasoned photog doesn’t even have to try to make a good image. Just throw your mundane, boring-ass picture into Photoshop and let the ****ing magical CS5 unicorns do their work.

There may not be an un-suck filter, but 15 layer masks can come pretty damn close.
Click to expand...
:LOL::LOL::LOL::LOL::LOL::LOL:
 
dmcaloney said:
Cheers for the edits folks. Good to see the different flavour people put on the pic.

On my works PC but on here the most natural edit seems to be Kipax's attempt.

Can you just give me a summary if you dont mind Kipax on how you got there? Many thanks.
Click to expand...
Yep - I think Kipax's edit takes it. (y)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top