Mono Millie ... V's First Portrait !

V

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Hiya all ... my first attempt at a portrait ... and mono at that ... :eek:

This not at all set up ... just an impromptu pose as she pretended to protest at being photographed ...

Mono Millie ... :love:

RLG4953_4.jpg


I would like to understand what is right and what is wrong with this and why ... :D

Spare me not guys & gals ... tell it like it is ... :p
 
I don't know much about portraits so take all this with a pinch of salt.

First impressions are it's really good, great eye contact, natural, unposed. Her face is maybe a tiny bit dark through being in the shadow and the highlight on her elbow is slightly distracting. But good(y)
 
OOh what a gorgeous little face ... she is lovely!
I agree with the above comments on the arm too.
Have you thought of lightening the whites of her eyes just a touch so as to take the distraction of the highlight on her arm awayand draw you straight to her eyes more.
Just a thought... look forward to what the others have to say too.
 
aww...Millie's are a bit special aren't they?

I love her coy pose and the eye contact but have to agree about it looking a bit on the dark side. A darling little girl!
 
It's a lovely shot but a little (well a lot actually :)) on the dark side. As others have said it's a shame about the arm, but it's a natural kid's pose.

There's so many ways you could process this shot. I lightened the overall gamma and brightness, then lightened the whites of the eyes selectively. Finally I ran it through a diffusing filter then sharpened the eyes and brows to make them stand out. I think the diffuse high key approach suits the shot, you could go quite a bit lighter if you wanted to.

millie2.jpg
 
Wow ... thanks guys 'n gals already ... so much input to cope with (drama kween mop of brow ... :LOL:) ... :D

She is a little cutie isn't she ... like her mother a bit of a poser on the sly ... :p

Cedric ... I like some of what you've done and it would be really useful if I could see it, sort of blow by blow to mimic on the original ... I did quite a bit of stuff just messing to get what I posted ... :thinking:

Should really go back and start over with the Neff ... no ... :shrug:

selective doing of stuff sort of blows me away at the moment ... :eek:

Thanks for all your comments (and compliments !) so far peeps ... (y)
 
Thinking about it Rog, I prefer the Full Monty high key job.


millie31.jpg


If you need any help with it just sing out, but do get it framed. :)
 
Hmmm ... I can appreciate what you have done and why ... just not sure if I like the full monty Cedric ... she is quite tanned and darkish skinned ... even if she is a true blonde ... :shrug:

Not sure what her mother will go for either ... another 'true' blonde ... :p

Would like to understand the selective lightening and sharpening thing though CT ... (y)
 
InaGlo said:
Sterling job CT ..... beautiful!!!!
Hope 'Mr Green' thinks so too (y)
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I certainly do Glo ... :LOL: ... just not sure if it is a tad too much ... :shrug:

CT has certainly done a better job on her eyes than I could ... :shake:

Practice, practice ... trouble is when her mum sees it she is gonna want a print like, yesterday to frame up and hang ... :eek:


:p
 
Venomator said:
... she is quite tanned and darkish skinned ... even if she is a true blonde ...
Click to expand...

So what was wrong with a colour version?
 
Venomator said:


Would like to understand the selective lightening and sharpening thing though CT ... (y)
Click to expand...

Well you have brushes you can use to paint areas lighter or darker etc, but I find them unpredictable and it's difficult to get an even effect on large areas. I prefer to use freehand masks and it really is a doddle with a bit of practice. To lighten the white of the eye you simply outline the white with the mask tool and then whatever tool or filter you apply it will only be applied within the mask. In this case, I just upped the gamma a little.

You can apply the same technique to any area of a pic, but if you need a soft edge to the effect then you need to feather the mask for a gradual fade. In the case of the eyes, I just drew a circle around the complete eye and brow, then feathered the mask by about 15 pixels, before applying sharpening.

Hope that helps mate. I'll try to post a pic of a freehand mask.
 
Freehand mask applied to the white of the eye Rog.

mask.jpg



Then you just lighten the area using gamma or brightness. These freehand masks are really powerful tools and you can use them to apply virtually any filter or effect to a specific area. :)
 
CT said:
I prefer to use freehand masks and it really is a doddle with a bit of practice. To lighten the white of the eye you simply outline the white with the mask tool and then whatever tool or filter you apply it will only be applied with the mask. In this case, I just upped the gamma a little.
I'll try to post a pic of a freehand mask.
Click to expand...


Thanks for that CT ... (y)

Now me being a dipstik ... :amstupid: Mask = Lasso tool ... :thinking:
 
Don't think I'll ever get the appeal of mono :) I can understand the high key if you like the effect or mono to bring out texture in things but this sort of shot l think just looks better in colour. (though it may still need a tweak from the PS wizards)
 
The lasso tool will sometimes select an area like that if you play with the tolerance level, but on other areas it would never work if there was too much detail. The beauty of the freehand mask is that you draw it by hand anywhere you like. I use PSP and the mask tool allows you to just click around an area - a bit like joining up the dots. Surely CS2 has a similar mask tool?

I don't have CS2 installed at the moment to check for you.
 
RobertP said:
Don't think I'll ever get the appeal of mono :) I can understand the high key if you like the effect or mono to bring out texture in things but this sort of shot l think just looks better in colour. (though it may still need a tweak from the PS wizards)
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I can see your point Robert ... for me though I do like mono but have not done much since going digi ... :p

Thanks for looking ... and taking the time to comment all the same ... appreciate it much, I do ... ;)

As for Ps wizzes ... Oh no ... not gotta do it all over for the colour one ... :eek:


:LOL: :D


:p
 
CT said:
Surely CS2 has a similar mask tool?

I don't have CS2 installed at the moment to check for you.
Click to expand...

I cannot see one yet... but then that means nothing ... imo ... :LOL:

Sure there is one just gotta find him ... :D
 
LOL. The colour version is nice too, but again a bit dark Rog.

millie4.jpg
 
CT said:
LOL. The colour version is nice too, but again a bit dark Rog.
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HeHe ... fart oo kwik for me Cedric ... :LOL:

I was still looking for me masks ... :p

Thanks for that ... sort out what you did in the a.m. ... :shrug:

Have to wait for tomorrow now ... I'm bushed and off to bobos ... :eek:
 
What an adorable little girl! The shot is lovely - you have captured the moment perfectly. Out of all of them, I like CT's high key version the best. I guess you either like this stuff or you don't, and I think the portrait suits it rather well!
 
minimeeze said:
What an adorable little girl! The shot is lovely - you have captured the moment perfectly. Out of all of them, I like CT's high key version the best. I guess you either like this stuff or you don't, and I think the portrait suits it rather well!
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Thanks Min ... just like her mother's father then really ... :D

The hi key is growing on me ... but I think some of the character is lost ... still not entirely sure about it ... :p
 
V thats an excellent shot - Great eye contact - a kid with a clean nose :) and such a brilliant non pose-pose

As to which I like - well post 21 - CT's version of the colour is my fav but I can see it might be more than 1 pic you print :)

Do tell - how did you take it, what sort of lens, distance etc.

Thanks

Allan
 
Keltic Ice Man said:
Do tell - how did you take it, what sort of lens, distance etc.
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Thanks for the kind comments Allan ... (y)

I just pulled the camera as it was from the car to mess about a bit at my Sister's place last Wednesday.

It had the 18 - 200mm fitted and I didn't bother much as my daughter said she (Millie) does not like having her pic done ... work that out ... :LOL:

Anyway - it was in an enclosed courtyard, under a clear roofed lean to in shade and ... at 123mm / F5.0 / Fill Flash and Millie was only a few feet away not sure quite how far 8 to 10 maybe ... :shrug:

Hope that is some use ... :thinking:

Thanks again for looking and commenting ... :p
 
Not sure if this is what you were looking for but have posted a quick mask thingy in case it helps :shrug: .
I will allow you to select only certain areas of an image using your brushes, gradients, paint bucket, etc.
Just take a look at masking in the Photoshop help & it should answer anything I havn't.
Good luck & great photo by the way (y) - you've inspired me to post my "Millie" picture (although my ones a Milly).
Mike.
Quick_masking.jpg
[/IMG]
 
Super Picture - Prefer the lighter colour version or Hi-key. Well posted as once again an interesting and informative thread. Would recomment Quick-mask and can be used in "Select" menu and by colour - then view in quick mask.
 
moomike said:
Not sure if this is what you were looking for but have posted a quick mask thingy in case it helps :shrug:
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot Mike ... looks like it might be useful ... I shall give it a shot to check it out ... (y) ... appreciate you taking the time to post it ... :ty:

Look forward to seeing your Milly at some stage then ... :D
 
Fangman said:
Super Picture - Prefer the lighter colour version or Hi-key. Well posted as once again an interesting and informative thread. Would recomment Quick-mask and can be used in "Select" menu and by colour - then view in quick mask.
Click to expand...

You are so right Fangman ... only way to learn ... :D

Thank you for your input too ... will have a look at that one as well ... (y)
 
No problem Venomator, just let me know if theres anything I missed off/any problems.
Have posted my Milly pic in the photo viewing forum (no one has replied yet though so it'll probably be on the second page) Still think this is an awesome pic for your 1st portrait, very nicely done :clap: .
Mike.
 
CT said:
Surely CS2 has a similar mask tool?
Click to expand...
Think it's the magnetic mask tool.
 
Had an attempt at the mono version. Some selective dodging and burning followed by some selective sharpening. Finished of with a curves layer eith a fairly large s curve.

RLG4953_41.jpg
 
FB - Thanks for the comments m8 ... appreciated much ... (y)

NightFire - Not a bad re-work ... like it better than some as it has kept more true to the subject ... imo ... thanks ... :p
 
But the selected bit of the eye you have shown us, couldnt that just be done with the lassoo tool, as a lot of people have asked?

PS...Gorgeous portrait of a gorgeous girl! ;)
 
Janice said:
But the selected bit of the eye you have shown us, couldnt that just be done with the lassoo tool, as a lot of people have asked?

;)
Click to expand...

Yes - the lasso tool would select a clean single tone like the whites of those eyes pretty easily. What it wouldn't select is an area encompassing just the eyes and brows for selective sharpening, which is why I try to get people to use freehand masks, they're the key to being able to do so much more. I simply couldn't do some of the photo restoration stuff I do without freehand masks. :shrug:
 
Blast, I should learn to type faster CT (y)

Selection with the lasso, magnetic lasso, etc is very touch & go as it relys upon a direct selection wheras selections via masks can be cusomised more easily & adjusted using precision tools such as the brush & pencil tools as well as larger area tools such as the gradients, pen tools & paint bucket.
That is not to say that selection using the former is not useful, I do use them, for example if I am outlining a selection between a black & white object (or other objects with high contrast differences) I will use the magnetic lasso & then enter quick masking to ensure I get the exact selection I need by adding/subtracting, etc.
One of the main benefits that I find for this technique is being able to correctly & precisely control the amount of feathering/sharpness via the use of feathered or hard edged brushes.
It's all down to personal preference but learning to use of quick masks & incorporating the other tools has vastly improved my workflow & I now find the lasso tools a little clumsy :( (even though I am using a graphics tablet).

If anyone wants any extra advice about quick masking techniques just ask & I'll see what I can do & if enough people ask the same questions, I'll put together a tutorial too (won't be a fancy video one like some of the others here :p but hopefully should cover it).
 
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