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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
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