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Archive 2014 · Multitasking

  
 
eeneryma
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Multitasking


NYC, 1st. Ave., 9AM today.
Color, or B&W? Any PP suggestions? Thanks so much for looking.



© eeneryma 2014

Multitasking Color





© eeneryma 2014

Multitasking B&W




Jun 07, 2014 at 06:45 PM
AuntiPode
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Multitasking


Perhaps a darker somewhat blurred background to better isolate the subject and a bit of crop from the left?












Jun 07, 2014 at 08:24 PM
eeneryma
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Multitasking


I see what you're getting at by darkening the background. It keeps my eye from wandering off the main attraction. Can you explain the process of darkening and what photoshop tools you used to achieve this. I also like your crop. Was your goal to make the girl less centered, and again to focus more attention on the girl as opposed to the metal gates. Your explanations help me for the future.


Jun 07, 2014 at 09:49 PM
AuntiPode
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Multitasking


Yup, cropping placed the subject in a more dynamic position. (The center is a visually static place. If you want a sense of motion, best not center the subject.) Reducing the graffiti on the left by cropping part of it also makes it incomplete and therefore less an object of interest in itself that distracts. Darkening and blurring the background also helps separate the subject from the background. That also helps focus attention on the subject.

Here's the layers I used. The ones labeled as layers were used to blur the background and selective bits not blurred in the first selection. The last layer was also used to dodge the mid-tones to lighten her face to better center attention on the subject as a person.

The techniques I used to darken portions of the image were exposure layers (PS CS5). The first darkened everything except the inverse of the selected subject. The "Exposure Layer 2" lowered the gamma (mid-tone contrast) of the subject slightly. Increasing the mid-tone contrast on the background and lowering it on the subject also helps separate the subject from the background in addition to the the dark/light separation. (Exposure layers 4 and 5 were just changes to a couple of subject patches to lower the distraction of overly bright bits of the subject.)







Jun 08, 2014 at 01:41 AM
ben egbert
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Multitasking


Hi Aunty, I always learn something from your work and explanations. I liked your version and see a great improvement.

I do have to ask, your version seems to have the girl about as dead center as she could get. I look at the entire body of the girl which is slightly slanted so I am using some sort of center of mass to judge. If I look at her left eye (right in the image) I get off center. Is this how you judge it?



Jun 08, 2014 at 08:23 AM
Healey
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Multitasking


What I see is glorious color, text, people, chaos. I would pump this baby so it becomes more colorful and really distracting to match the distraction of the main figure. I would also up the midtone contrast to show those stress lines on her face. Create a stronger story.

But this is just my interpretation, you the photographer should decide what story you want to tell with this image.

Sort of like this:







Jun 08, 2014 at 11:09 AM
Bob Jarman
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Multitasking


Karen's re-work and crop for me -

+1 Healey on different vibe and story - illustrates opposing strengths of BW and color.

Babe needs G-glasses to complete the outfit

Regards,

Bob



Jun 08, 2014 at 11:16 AM
RustyBug
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Multitasking


+1 @ a way of drawing to the subject, but I'm kinda diggin' the environmental aspects of the capture. also.

+1 @ Healy ... you gotta know the story/message that you desire to send, and use your edits to drive it.

Here's a crop only (no edits) that play a bit more with the environment. The juxtaposition of the nail salon and roses behind her, the graffiti ahead of here, combined with her tattoos and nails. The mass of the nail salon/roses signage vs. the mass of the graffiti door vs. her mass. From that I get someone who is walking away from one ideation of how to entice others attention toward another ... while walking into the techno-multi-tasking @ too busy to stop and smell the roses.

For me, there's more to be read in the message here than just "busy" multitasking with cell phone, music, text, cigarette, beer and matches @ what the environment also offers regarding a societal message.







Jun 08, 2014 at 11:17 AM
AuntiPode
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Multitasking


ben egbert wrote:
... your version seems to have the girl about as dead center as she could get. I look at the entire body of the girl which is slightly slanted so I am using some sort of center of mass to judge. If I look at her left eye (right in the image) I get off center. Is this how you judge it?


Nope. The subject isn't centered. See the piccie below with the center-line marked. More importantly, the subject isn't the center of visual interest. Nor, in this case, is her eye/eyes. She is looking at her phone and that directs the viewer to follow her gaze. The phone therefore becomes the composition nexus. Notice the position of the nexus. Even if the nexus was her face, it's off-centered left and right and very far off center vertically.








Jun 08, 2014 at 04:33 PM
ben egbert
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Multitasking


Thanks Karen, I don't know what I don't know so I have to ask. I took the button on her pants to be about the center of mass for the girl. This is how engineers think so a lot of retraining is required. I thought my second guess was pretty good but I never would have guessed your answer.


Jun 08, 2014 at 04:54 PM
AuntiPode
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Multitasking


People talk about the subject, but composition is more than placing a "subject" somewhere. Composition is about what attracts the eye and where the eye is attracted. Center of mass is often completely irrelevant. Very often and perhaps most of the time, center of mass doesn't draw the eye and isn't the visual nexus. Or, the "subject could be perfectly centered and yet the image dynamic, if something particular draws the eye somewhere not central. An image with a very central visual nexus can still be a good composition, if there is a good intuitive reason that makes it work. For example, if the meaning of the image is to make a statement about solidity, stability, massiveness, or some-such, the static feeling associated with a central nexus placement would add to the meaning of the image. It also gets confusing because language is imprecise. Sometimes we say "subject" when we mean center of visual importance or the visual nexus. Sometimes we use it to refer to an object photographed, despite the fact that it might not be the visual center or only a small and select part of the subject is the center of visual interest. And sometimes visual elements that aren't the subject and aren't directly related to the meaning can influence how a scene is experienced and disrupt it's flow and meaning, or, conversely, make it stronger.

It would be convenient if composition was all about formulas and rules. One could learn the formulas and rules and make images by rote. Unfortunately, formulas and rules may help explain why an image works or doesn't work, but they aren't generally enough, by themselves, to make a really good image composition.



Jun 08, 2014 at 05:22 PM
ben egbert
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Multitasking


That is very helpful. The idea of subject versus visual importance is one I never considered. Also in this image, I never got the idea of the girl looking at the phone.


Jun 08, 2014 at 06:15 PM
geneva
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Multitasking


lol good


Jun 08, 2014 at 06:20 PM
eeneryma
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Multitasking


Thank you all for your generous insights and suggestions. Especially to Karen for her workflow and compositional analysis. And +1 to Rusty for his linking of the surrounding environment adding to the complete message which I agree with wholeheartedly.


Jun 08, 2014 at 06:32 PM
Bob Jarman
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Multitasking


ben egbert wrote:
That is very helpful. The idea of subject versus visual importance is one I never considered. Also in this image, I never got the idea of the girl looking at the phone.


Also consider the leading lines: her arms and cigarette all three point toward the phone. The end-points of those lines construct a triangle to add stability (phone - cigarette, ticket ) and help define a visual focus.

My 2¢,

Bob



Jun 09, 2014 at 10:42 AM
lylejk
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Multitasking


Fattel tone mapping (any HDR like effect would probably do) blended to even out the light is what I would do.




Jun 11, 2014 at 07:32 AM
eeneryma
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · Multitasking


Can you explain how to do fattel tone mapping. Not familiar with that process. Thank you.


Jun 11, 2014 at 07:34 AM
lylejk
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · Multitasking


I used a GEGL (GIMP) operator this time but I've seen other HDR programs include Fattel tonemapping.


Jun 11, 2014 at 07:35 AM
eeneryma
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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · Multitasking


Sorry, I'm a photoshop novice. Can this be done in Photoshop Creative cloud? What would be the steps? Always looking to learn.


Jun 11, 2014 at 07:48 AM





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