please help me understand this PP..

keenan

keenan

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Name
Jacques
Edit My Images
Yes
Hi guys,

I have asked the same question in the tutorials section, but I dont think I asked it in the right way..

The best example I can give is the photos on this flickr account.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/robbiekhan/

All of the photos this photographer takes are processed in the same way. I want to say dull/matte/diffused or something along those lines. Sadly I am not clued up on all the techniques people use but I do love the look of his photos with an overwhelming passion!

Could someone possibly try to explain this to me and if so, help me to put it in practice?
 
surfg1mp said:
Use curves......simple by dragging the bottom left point up will flatten the contrast out and give you that Matt look....then play around with the rest of the curve to refine the look of the image.
Click to expand...

Thank you, I will try to play around with it and see if I can get some results.
 
I wouldn't say he uses the same processing on his images at all, there are some quite noticeable differences in the look of each image but the vignette & similarities in some tones tie the images together very well.
The indoor seat shots could be HDR whereas the wedding shots don't look very processed at all - I'd say he does whatever works for each individual image & then adds the vignette & alters the tones to tie the images together.

Hue/Saturation adjustments in photoshop will give you some nice results like this but only if you adjust each individual colour - he seems to use a warming effect in a lot of his images so maybe try adding a tad more yellow into your reds & once you've got the tones to where you want them, use levels or curves to introduce a bit more contrast to the image (I always use levels as I prefer to add contrast via colour adjustments rather than via using curves but use whatever works for you)

Another way to start setting your tones with a slightly muted but with deeper shadows is to do the following:
1. Duplicate your layer.
2. Add a B&W adjustment layer - I'd start off by setting this to green as I find it preserves highlight & midtone detail much better than some of the other options (you can find the presets in the B&W dropdown menu) I'd advise you play with the settings to see what works for you - usually the red slider is set a bit low but just see what kind of effect you want.
3. Merge the B&W adjustment layer with the duplicated base layer (just select the B&W adjustment layer & press Ctrl+E or Cmnd+E if on mac) This should create a B&W version of your image on top of your original layer (a combination of the duplicate & the B&W adjustment layer)
4. Set this new layer to Multiply & lower the opacity until it starts to look like it's working for you (usually around the 30-40% works to maintain detail in the shadows but is obviously image dependent)
5, This is where I'd mask areas to prevent the effect becoming too strong in places & keeping strong in others, but I'd just read up on masking for now if you're not sure how to implement them - they are the most important thing you could ever learn in Photoshop.
6. Get working with the above Hue/Saturation/Curves adjustments on your original layer to get all of your tones correct.
7. Add a vignette in whichever way you'd usually do it.

Hope this helps - give me a shout if there's anything you're unsure of :)
 
I know this photographer off other forums.
From speaking to him I believe he does use a standard preset on the majority of his photos but then tweaks it to get the best on each photo.
I have still not mastered exactly how he manages all of it!
None of the (recent) images are HDR either.
 
Note that many of those pictures don't go all the way to black. Giving a washed-out mistiness.
 
If you want an easy life, then you could buy some presets; I use VSCO film presets in Lightroom, which replicate this flattened 'film' style, but I think they do them for Photoshop too. Not the cheapest way to get the effect, purists might prefer to press buttons in PS all day, but it's quick and takes 1 button click and maybe a quick tweak of exposure/grain :)
 
I would concentrate on developing your own style and not try to copy others, its ok to have a basic idea how to process a photo to a certain style but you really need to add your own touch to it

Steve
 
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