Home · Register · Join Upload & Sell

Moderated by: Fred Miranda
Username  

  New fredmiranda.com Mobile Site
  New Feature: SMS Notification alert
  New Feature: Buy & Sell Watchlist
  

FM Forums | Photo Critique | Join Upload & Sell

  

Archive 2014 · beautiful couple on beach - too much?

  
 
photodude88
Offline

Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · beautiful couple on beach - too much?


Shot this engagement session on the beach. I was wondering if the post processing I've done on these photos are too much or do they correctly fit the mood of the scene? Does it pop-out as a nice artistic piece that works, or do I need to dial down the blue or other post-processing a bit? I personally like it but looking for others' critiques.

Reality: It was a dark cloudy evening with the last bit of sunset peaking through.

Your thoughts and constructive feedback on the effects applied to these photos are very much appreciated. Thank you in advance.


Photo 1

Photo 2




Nov 14, 2014 at 02:46 AM
Almass
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · beautiful couple on beach - too much?


Actually it works quite nice.....the way that you wan it.

The look of the image makes a statement that the image has been beautified which is very much different from images which were beautified under the guise of they were not and then they look tacky.

So, yeah it works and I like the color palette.

I would crop both images top and bottom as too much water on the bottom of the first one and too much sky on the top of the second one.....can you centre them in the first one?



Nov 14, 2014 at 04:44 AM
AuntiPode
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · beautiful couple on beach - too much?


The left side of each seems cramped, especially the first. Hope you have some spare space to add back to the left:







Nov 14, 2014 at 04:57 AM
sbeme
Offline
• • • • • • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · beautiful couple on beach - too much?


Beautiful images and a key issue is your goal and the response of the couple. I imagine they are thrilled.
At a more critical photographer to photographer level, I think you can make some of the transitions around the dodged areas more subtle in the first. In the second image I like the transitions/edges better but I think there are some refinements around their heads.

Scott



Nov 14, 2014 at 07:22 AM
RustyBug
Online
• • • • • • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · beautiful couple on beach - too much?


+1 @ Scott on transitions

+1 @ Karen regarding space ... although, my approach would be to crop down some of the top/right to re-weight the couple a bit more, as well as change their relative position re: left/center.

On the tighter image, I might look to pull down the saturation on the couple. Skin looks kinda orange and her dress looks kinda "hot pink" rather than soft pink. I understand you had to push things quite a bit to bring out the blue, etc., but I think you have some collateral damage in the skin and dress (his clothes also, but who cares about that ).

I totally get the artistic rendering, but sometimes people can be a bit critical of their color because they can go home and look in the mirror and their closet. When they show to their friends/family ... "You look orange." or "Your dress isn't that color." may not be what they want to hear.

You could pull down on the blue to make it a bit softer also, but I think it's okay for artistic license ... especially because (unlike the dress color or skin color), no one has an absolute reference to compare it to given the tremendous variability of natural light. Also, a slight diff in saturation between the couple and the scene can create a contrast that can help draw us to them slightly more (a subtle inverse selective color, if that makes any sense).

As noted, for an artistic rendering, much liberty is in play, but I think her dress color and their skin tones might warrant a review. Just some things that catch my eye ... which includes the fact that they are lovely captures of the essence of the couple being the only thing in the world that matters among the earth & sky.












Nov 14, 2014 at 09:04 AM
photodude88
Offline

Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · beautiful couple on beach - too much?


@RustyBug --
Could you clarify what this means? I'm curious to understand your creative thinking behind this suggestion:
"a slight diff in saturation between the couple and the scene can create a contrast that can help draw us to them slightly more (a subtle inverse selective color, if that makes any sense)."




Nov 15, 2014 at 03:09 AM
RustyBug
Online
• • • • • • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · beautiful couple on beach - too much?


photodude88 wrote:
I'm curious to understand your creative thinking

Well, it may not be quite as much "creative" thinking as it is science oriented thought. You may be sorry you asked.


Human physiology inherently detects contrast. While we tend to think of contrast in photographic terms of the Contrast function for driving tonal values farther apart, however the generic aspect of contrast can be applied to any/all attributes as simply an increase in diff/variance.

sharp/blur
dark/light
straight/curve
chromatic (hue/color) / mono-chromatic
large/small
netural/non-neutral
etc.

HSL (Hue/Sat/Lum) are the three primary attributes available to us for adjustment in PS. Creating contrast is widely used in terms of Luminance, but creating contrast in Hue and Saturation are also available to us.

We see this in selective color where a total removal of saturation is applied and the contrast it creates between that area and the remaining color area. Granted, it is special effect when applied 100%, but it illustrates the point @ contrasting saturation levels capture attention. I'm not thinking that a 100% desat should be used, but that a partial desat (10-20%) can restore a more natural look ... and a selective reduction creates a sublime contrast against the slightly more saturated background. That would be the inverse of increasing saturation to draw attention to a particular portion of our image, but they are both imparting a contrast variation in saturation levels.

In this instance, the contrast in mass (small vs. large) of the couple vs. the ocean/sky aligns with the concept of the lesser (less mass, less saturation) being our focal point ... the contrast being what we physiologically are drawn to notice. We often times drive toward "more" in our effort to create contrast, but the "less is more" can mean that we have "less" as an available option to increase contrast (variance), particularly when more of "more" begins to cause collateral damage (i.e. orange skin tones).

Carrying on with the concept of contrast into the realm of Hue, that is the primary reason why I strive to ensure that I have areas in my images that have truly neutral values, no matter how insignificant they may be to the image itself when I want to generate strong contrast. Having a true neutral (cast removal), is the maximum amount of color contrast you can have among a multitude of hues. You can have stronger amounts of hue contrast between two colors that are complementary, such as blue/yellow, etc. in the absence of a true neutral, so it can also depend on your palette as to whether a true neutral is providing contrast among the multitude of hues or mediating two opposites ... again, the amount of contrast (generic term) drives the physiological response to notice variance.

We can drive our contrast in terms of tonal value and increase our saturation, but I find that when we have a true neutral base incorporated, the implementation of Hue contrast, Saturation contrast and Luminance contrast can work together more effectively than a need for over-driving Contrast or Saturation. In that regard, I tend to implement a push/pull of varying attributes. In the case of your image, you have pushed the Saturation of the scene, a slight pull of Saturation in the couple generates a push/pull contrast (subtle) in the process of adjusting color to a softer vibe.

Conversely, reductions in contrast (Hue, Luminance or Saturation) create a physiological response to relax our high alert notification. Thus, we can impart "LOOK HERE" via contrast increase and "relax" via saturation reduction. A slight "relax" in the couple (imo) is congruent with the message of the image about how comfortable they are with each other. Subtle and sublime, but something for consideration ... again, if that makes any sense.

Creative license has ultimate liberty, so it is certainly "your image, your call" at how to approach and deliver "your message". This is just something I saw as a means to mitigate what I perceived as colors in the couple as being a bit too hot/overcooked)

As always, S&P to taste. Sometimes I like a lot of salt, other times a lot of pepper and yet others ... a little of each.

HTH






Nov 15, 2014 at 07:45 AM
photodude88
Offline

Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · beautiful couple on beach - too much?


Thank you to everyone's advice and thoughts. It is very much appreciated. I've taken everyone's comments into mind and made some adjustments to the final versions that I will share with the bride/groom soon.

"Realistic" was definitely not my goal/intention for these particular artistic shots in their set of pics. I was going for artsy and something they would select for an enlargement...something that looks dreamy. At the same time, I did not want my Photoshop work to make the photo look too tacky and overly done....which is why I sought everyone's opinions on this forum. It has been helpful.

And a big shout out to @RustyBug for taking extra time to write such a detailed explanation.



Nov 17, 2014 at 03:34 AM





FM Forums | Photo Critique | Join Upload & Sell

    
 

You are not logged in. Login or Register

Username       Or Reset password



This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.